THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Joseph  P.  Loeb 


'^MtVWa.  lixAr. 


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THE    WORKS    OF   MAURICE    MAETERLINCK    IN 
UNIFORM  STYLE  AND  BINDING 

ESSAYS 
The  Treasure  or  the  Humble 
Wisdom  and   Destiny 
The  Life  or  the  Bee 
The  Buried  Temple 
The  Double  Garden 
The  Measure  of  the  Hours 

PLAYS 

Sister  Beatrice  and  Ardiane  and  Barbe  Bleue 

JoYZELLE    AND    MoNNA    VANNA 

The  Blue  Bird,   A  Fairy  Play 

Mary  Magdalene 

Pelleas  and  Melisande,  and  Other  Plays 

Princess  Maleine 

The  Intruder,   and  Other   Plays 

HOLIDAY  EDITIONS 

The   text  in  each  case  is  an  extract  from  one 
of  the  above  mentioned  books. 
Our  Friend  the  Dog 
Old-Fashioned  Flowers 
The  Swarm 

The  Intelligence  of  the  Flowers 
Chrysanthemums 
The  Leaf  of  Olive 
Thoughts  from  Maeterlinck 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

A  Drama  in  Five  Acts 


BY 

MAURICE  MAETERLINCK 


Introduction  and  Translation  by 
Alfred   Sutro 


I 


NEW   YORK 

DODD,    MEAD   AND    COMPANY 
1911 


COPYRIGHT,  ign 
BY  DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

Published  November  ^  1911 


Colleire 


PREFACE 

I 

It  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  any 
work  of  Maeterlinck's,  even  in  its  trans- 
lated form,  requires  any  Introduction — ex- 
cept it  be  in  the  nature  of  an  apology,  on 
the  part  of  the  translator,  for  the  inade- 
quacy of  his  version.    But  the  publishers  of 
this  book  have  been  insistent  that  I  should 
furnish  them  with  some  kind  of  preface; 
and,  after  all,  there  is  the  comforting  re- 
flection that  very  few  people  will  read  it. 
So  much  has  been  written  about  Maeter- 
linck these  past  years!     It  is  a  feature  of 
the  times  we  live  in  that  five  books  are 
written  about  a  great  man  of  letters  for 
every  one  of  his.    Nor  would  I  have  con- 
sented to  add  to  the  mass  were  I  not  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that,  possessing  no  sort 
of  critical  faculty,  I  would  attempt  neither 
to  analyse  nor  to  appraise — but  simply,  and 
perhaps  naively,  to  admire.    I  am  no  longer 
M.  Maeterlinck's  translator;  that  office  has 


vi  Preface 

devolved  upon  Mr.  Teixeira  de  Mattos, 
and  right  admirably  does  he  fulfil  it.  But 
there  are  many  books  of  the  great  Belgian's 
that  I  have  rendered  into  English ;  and,  be- 
ing a  slow  worker,  loving  to  linger  over 
his  fine,  melodious  sentences,  seeking  to 
capture,  for  hours  sometimes,  the  turn  of  a 
phrase,  its  harmonious  balance  and  cadence, 
I  have  lived  for  a  very  long  time  in  his 
brain.  For  the  translator  who  cares  for 
his  work  must,  while  translating,  cease  to 
be  himself,  he  must  be  a  reflex  of  the  other, 
trying  to  think  his  thoughts,  to  feel  as  he 
felt,  he  must  reproduce  not  only  the  bare 
words,  but  the  lilt,  the  flow,  the  music,  the 
hesitation  and  eagerness — ah,  at  least  he 
must  try,  and,  though  he  fail,  as  fail  he 
must,  there  is  joy  in  the  trying — as  I  say, 
he  lives  in  his  master's  brain,  and  knows  it, 
as  none  other  can  know  it,  who  merely  reads 
the  book.  And  surely  than  this  brain  of 
Maeterlinck's  there  has  rarely  been  one  that 
held  more  serenity  and  beauty,  nobler  won- 
der and  sympathy,  more  dignity  or  loftier 
truth. 

As  I  do  not  intend  these  few  words  of 
mine  to  be  in  any  way  a  criticism  of  the 


Preface 


vn 


book,  but  rather  a  personal  note  about  the 
man  who  wrote  it,  I  think  I  cannot  do  bet- 
ter than  describe  my  first  meeting  with  him, 
many  years  ago,  when  his  name  was  known 
only  to  the  few,  who  already  held  him  in 
high  esteem  as  a  mystic  and  symbolist. 

II 

It  was  at  a  rehearsal  of  a  play  of  his — 
"Interieur" — that  was  to  be  produced  by  a 
little  Independent  Theatre  Society  in  Paris. 
The  Society  in  question  had  very  little 
money,  but  vast  stores  of  enthusiasm;  and 
its  members  were  all  very  young.  Those 
were  the  days  when  four  or  five  poets,  all 
living  in  garrets  and  happy  if  they  could  see 
a  week's  money  ahead — would  promptly 
start  a  "Revue"  should  one  of  their  num- 
ber, by  some  rare  stroke  of  luck,  come  into 
fifty  pounds.  There  was  no  lack  of  oblig- 
ing and  complaisant  printers — printers  in 
Paris  are  apt  to  possess  quaint  sympathy 
with  the  long-haired,  shabby  and  enthusi- 
astic young  poets — the  fifty  pounds  would 
change  hands  and  the  "Revue"  would  start, 
with  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets,  to  expire, 


viii  Preface 

in  a  blaze  of  glory,  with  the  third  or  fourth 
number.  But,  in  the  meantime,  there 
would  have  been  an  "Editor-in-Chief," 
whom  his  friends,  the  other  contributors, 
would  address  as  "Cher  Maitre" — it  is 
surely  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  Editor 
would  be  the  man  with  the  fifty  pounds — 
there  would  have  been  much  junketing,  and 
debating  as  to  policy,  solemn  deliberations 
as  to  an  article  to  be  written,  about  a 
celebrity  of  the  hour,  that  should  "put  him 
in  his  place"  and  reassure  posterity — and, 
incidentally,  much  good  sterling  poetry. 
"Les  Jeunes" — ah,  Paris  is,  and  always  will 
be,  the  paradise  of  "Les  Jeunes"!  They 
grow  old,  and  forsake  their  haunts  and  for- 
get to  sing;  they  become  respectable,  and 
begin  to  think  of  money,  and  position — but 
there  are  always  others  ready  to  take  their 
place,  and  keep  up  the  joyous  tradition. 
And,  truly,  not  the  tradition  that  is  so 
fondly  cherished  by  the  lady  novelist  who 
writes,  from  a  fulness  of  ignorance,  about 
the  Latin  Quarter.  Disreputable  they  may 
be,  the  young  men,  but  only  because  their 
attire  is  eccentric  and  their  spirits  a  trifle 
too  wild  and  exuberant;  their  minds  are 


Preface  ix 

clean  and  their  ways  the  pleasant  way  of 
poesy;  and  the  grisette  may  be  their  com- 
panion but  not  their  goddess,  who  is,  always 
and  enduringly,  the  world's  great  sweetener 
and  gentle  teacher,  that  sovereign  lady, 
Art. 

Ill 

And  here,  at  the  risk  of  keeping  Maeter- 
linck waiting,  at  his  rehearsal,  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  describing  an  evening  at  Mal- 
larme's,  the  great,  obscure  poet  who  exer- 
cised so  mighty  an  influence  over  all  the 
young  men  of  his  time.  In  a  dull  little 
street,  up  three  flights  of  stairs — in  a  long, 
narrow,  unpretentious  sitting-room,  the 
furniture  all  of  the  simplest — there  Mal- 
larme  was  "At  Home,"  one  evening  a  week, 
to  his  friends  and  those  whom  they  chose 
to  bring  with  them.  The  Master  stood  in 
front  of  the  fireplace,  one  of  the  "anciens" 
seated  at  each  corner;  you  were  introduced, 
a  word  said  of  your  own  literary  endeav- 
our— you  were  received  with  the  most  ex- 
quisite courtesy,  welcomed  with  the  Mas- 
ter's beautiful  smile — you  took  your  place 
at  the  long  table — and  the  talk,  that  your 


x  Preface 

arrival  had  interrupted,  soon  went  on  again. 
It  was  the  business  of  the  "anciens"  at  the 
corners  to  set  it  going,  and  see  that  it  did 
not  flag.  And  there  was  one  talker  only, 
Mallarme.  There  he  stood,  with  his  pipe 
in  his  hand,  that  he  was  never  allowed  to 
light — for  the  moment  he  had  finished  his 
discourse,  and  looked  for  the  matches,  an- 
other subject  was  sprung  upon  him,  and  he 
eagerly  started  again.  And  the  talk  was 
good,  of  the  best.  In  a  sweet,  low  voice, 
every  sentence  issuing  perfect  and  crystal- 
clear,  he,  whose  poetry  was  of  the  obscur- 
est, would  illumine  every  theme  that  he 
handled,  give  his  ripest  wisdom  and  deepest 
thought  to  the  young  poets  around  him,  his 
pupils  and  followers,  the  boys  whom  he 
loved  and  sought  only  to  help.  For  such 
is  the  way  of  Paris,  where  there  are  no  bar- 
riers set  up  between  the  beginner  and  the 
master,  no  door  to  exclude  the  man  who  has 
not  yet  succeeded  from  the  hero  of  many 
successes.  Art  is  more  than  a  word  there, 
more  than  a  cult,  it  is  a  brotherhood;  and 
the  young  scribbler  may  go  to  bed  hungry 
in  his  attic  under  the  roof,  but  never  need 
he  tell  himself  that  he  is  friendless,  or  that 


Preface  xi 

his  poverty  denies  him  the  help  and  advice 
of  the  high  priests  of  his  craft. 

IV 

Marcel  Prevost  is  fond  of  telling  that 
the  last  rehearsal  Dumas  Fils  attended  was 
one  of  the  "Demi-Vierge,"  which  M.  Pre- 
vost had  adapted  for  the  stage  from  his 
own  novel.  He  sent  the  play  to  Dumas, 
who  took  a  great  interest  in  it,  asked  the 
author  to  call  on  him,  gave  advice,  made 
suggestions,  and  was  as  eager  for  its  suc- 
cess as  though  it  had  been  a  play  of  his 
own.  These  conditions,  I  am  afraid,  do 
not  obtain  outside  Paris.  There  great 
painters  will  not  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  ap- 
peal of  any  student  of  promise;  they  will 
climb  up  the  countless  stairs  to  his  studio — 
criticise,  point  out  mistakes  in  the  work,  and 
also  admire  and  encourage — and  they  will 
not  fail,  if  the  work  be  good,  to  say  a  word 
in  the  proper  quarter.  I  write,  it  is  true, 
of  the  Paris  of  fifteen  years  ago — it  may  be 
that  to-day  things  are  no  longer  the  same 
— but,  at  least,  it  is  pleasant  to  think  that 
there  will  have  been  no  change.  Of  all  the 
cities  in  the  world,  Paris  is  the  one  that  has 


xii  Preface 

its  own  real  artistic  atmosphere;  and  that 
must  always  endure.  It  has  its  love  of 
beauty,  and  its  men  who  put  that  high 
above  all;  it  is  still  the  land  of  endeavour, 
and  its  art  is  eternally  young.  The  Post- 
Impressionists — how  we  scoffed  at  them 
over  here  I  I  have  seen  parties  going 
through  the  gallery  where  their  works  were 
being  exhibited,  saturnine,  bilious  people 
who  had  come  in  groups  for  once  to  enjoy 
a  hearty  laugh,  and  who  vowed  that  the 
pictures  were  quite  too  deliciously  funny! 
That  is  not  the  way  of  Paris,  the  city  of 
endeavour,  that  takes  all  endeavour  seri- 
ously. And  it  often  comes  about,  in  a 
curious  way,  that  what  London  laughs  at 
to-day,  it  will  pay  high  prices  for  to-mor- 
row, and  talk  about  with  enthusiasm,  as  a 
new  revelation  in  art. 

V 

But  now  it  is  fully  time  that  I  went  back 
to  the  rehearsal,  where  I,  who  had  read 
Maeterlinck's  plays,  and  admired  them 
immensely,  was  to  be  introduced  to  their 
author.  At  the  back  of  the  hall,  in  the 
midst  of  a  crowd  of  enthusiastic  youths, 


Preface  xiii 

stood  a  large,  heavily  built  man,  who 
seemed  to  be  surveying  the  scene  with  some 
indifference — appeared  to  welcome  the  in- 
terruption, to  seize  gladly  the  chance  to 
get  away!  Perhaps  my  shyness  appealed 
to  him,  himself  one  of  the  shyest  of  men — 
or  the  fact,  it  may  be,  that  I  made  no  at- 
tempt to  say  flattering  things.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  in  five  minutes  we  were  out  in  the 
street;  with  a  nod  here  and  there  he  had 
assured  the  actors  that  they  were  all  won- 
derful; and,  with  a  great  sigh  of  relief,  he 
escaped,  and  we  rambled  through  Paris, 
and  he  talked,  slowly  and  hesitatingly  at 
first,  then  with  great  eagerness,  about 
Meredith,  Swinburne,  Browning,  Hardy — 
of  any  one,  except  himself.  And  since  then 
we  have  met  very  often,  and  he  still  never 
talks  of  himself.  For  Maeterlinck  has 
nothing  of  the  pontiff  in  him,  the  scent  of 
incense  does  not  tickle  his  nostrils,  he  does 
not  put  himself,  or  his  work,  on  a  pedestal. 
I  have  another  recollection  of  him  when, 
vastly  against  his  will,  he  was  induced,  I 
think  for  the  only  time  in  his  life,  to  run 
the  gauntlet  of  the  crowd's  admiration.  It 
was  at  the  first  performance  of  "Pelleas 


xiv  Preface 

and  Mellsande"  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre; 
when  the  curtain  had  fallen,  amidst  great 
enthusiasm,  Maeterlinck  allowed  himself 
to  be  dragged  on  to  the  stage,  there  to  re- 
ceive the  congratulations  of  his  admirers. 
Lady  after  lady  was  brought  up,  intro- 
duced, and  made  her  little  flattering  speech 
— and  never  was  a  man  more  genuinely 
unhappy  than  our  poet  I  For  to  this  strange 
creature  it  meant  nothing  to  shake  hands 
with  a  duchess;  and  when  London  host- 
esses tried  to  lionise  him  he  promptly  fled, 
to  the  amazement  of  the  great  ladies  who 
could  not  understand  that  a  mere  genius 
should  decline  the  honour  of  being  present 
at  one  of  their  "At  Homes." 

VI 

Some  of  his  admirers,  however,  are 
simpler  and  less  exacting.  We  were  at 
Rome  together,  a  few  winters  ago;  and 
staying  in  our  hotel  were  a  cluster  of  Ameri- 
can girls,  eighteen  or  twenty  of  them,  evi- 
dently a  group  who  were  all  travelling  to- 
gether. It  did  not  take  these  maidens  long 
to  discover  that  the  tall,  grey-haired  man 
with  the  earnest,  simple  face  was  Maeter- 


Preface 


xv 


linck;  and,  when  we  went  into  the  dining- 
room,  for  lunch  or  dinner,  there  they  all 
were,  waiting,  and  the  twenty  heads  would 
swing  round,  watching  him  go  into  the 
inner  room  where  we  had  our  own  meal; 
and,  when  we  came  out,  though  the  other 
guests  might  have  all  departed,  the  twenty 
were  still  there;  and  to  the  master,  as  he 
went  out,  the  same  faithful,  silent  tribute 
of  admiration  was  again  offered.  But  be- 
yond this,  nothing — for  some  days  we  were 
in  the  hotel  together,  and  none  of  them 
spoke  to  him,  or  asked  for  his  autograph, 
or  made  the  slightest  attempt  to  approach 
or  molest  him.  One  day,  the  great  table  at 
which  they  had  sat  was  empty;  their  holi- 
day was  over,  the  girb  had  gone.  And  that 
evening  a  letter  was  brought  him,  from  one 
of  them,  their  leader,  perhaps,  who  had 
kept  the  others  in  check — a  gentle  simple 
letter  in  which  he  was  told  that  his  "Wis- 
dom and  Destiny"  was  the  writer's  constant 
companion,  the  book  she  loved  above  all 
others;  that  for  years  she  had  saved  up  her 
money  to  go  to  Rome,  but  that  greater  than 
all  her  joy  at  seeing  the  wonderful  city  was 
her  delight  at  having  seen  Maeterlinck,  the 


xvi  Preface 

man  to  whom  she  owed  so  much.  The  let- 
ter was  unsigned,  no  address  was  given, 
there  was  no  demand  for  a  reply;  but  it 
came  straight  from  her  heart,  and  it  went 
to  his,  and  I  have  rarely  known  him  more 
pleased.  And  if,  by  some  rare  chance, 
these  lines  should  be  seen  by  that  Ameri- 
can girl,  she  will  like  to  know  that  her  little 
tribute  of  praise  was  keenly  appreciated  by 
the  man  she  honoured  so  highly. 

VII 

An  athlete  as  well  as  a  close  student  and 
omnivorous  reader,  his  habits  remaining 
always  simple  and  methodical,  he  has  re- 
tained, to  a  curious  degree,  the  serenity  the 
evenness  of  mind,  that  comes  to  those  who 
spend  their  days  far  from  the  noise  and 
bustle  of  towns,  as  far,  also,  from  the  mater- 
ial ambitions  of  men.  He  has  the  smile, 
to  this  day,  of  the  child ;  he  has  the  child's 
faculty  of  wonder.  "Wisdom  and  Des- 
tiny," "The  Life  of  the  Bee,"  "The  Blue 
Bird" — in  all  these  there  is  the  brain  of  a 
man,  with  the  soul  of  a  child,  questioning 
Destiny.  There  are  critics  who  term  him  a 
mystic,  and  pass  on,  satisfied  with  the  label. 


Preface  xvii 

But  if  the  word  implies  anything  of  mental 
fog  or  obscurity,  then  Maeterlinck  is  none. 
For  his  mind  is  of  the  clearest,  the  most 
limpid;  sunlit,  as  it  were,  in  every  corner. 
Also  it  has  the  mighty  quality  of  all  great 
minds;  it  rests  on  solid  arches  of  its  own 
creation;  there  are  no  tottering  planks,  no 
insecure  ways.  Where  he  treads  he  treads 
steadily,  firmly;  advances  no  dubious 
theory,  no  hesitating  doctrine ;  the  real  wis- 
dom is  with  him,  the  wisdom  born  of  the 
sweetness  of  soul.  He  loves  what  he  writes, 
writes  only  of  what  he  loves ;  and,  the  thing 
once  written  passes  on,  indifferent,  and 
turns  his  eyes  elsewhere.  The  author's 
vanity  is  unknown  to  him;  he  reserves  his 
enthusiasm  for  the  works  of  others.  And 
the  only  subject  on  which  you  cannot  in- 
terest him  is  precisely  the  subject  of 
Maeterlinck. 

VIII 

He  is  a  man  of  the  theatre;  he  has  the 
dramatic  instinct  strongly  developed.  "In- 
terieur,"  one  of  his  earlier  plays,  revealed 
him  as  the  possessor,  to  an  extraordinary  de- 
gree,  of  that  intuitive   technique  without 


XV111 


Preface 


which  no  man  will  ever  succeed  on  the 
stage.  It  is  characteristic  of  him,  however, 
that  he  has  never  made  the  slightest  at- 
tempt to  write  a  play  on  the  ordinary,  ac- 
cepted lines,  be  these  of  the  most  advanced; 
he  has  created  a  method  of  his  own,  a 
method  bristling  with  difficulties,  that  be- 
come only  too  obvious  to  his  imitators! 
But  it  suits  the  man;  it  adapts  itself  to  his 
form  of  idea;  to  him  it  is  the  one  means  of 
expression.  "Pelleas  et  Melisande,"  that 
rare  little  masterpiece,  with  its  haunting  re- 
frains and  glimpses  of  perfect  beauty,  ex- 
hibits the  most  amazing  stagecraft  side  by 
side  with  the  most  deliberate  flouting  of 
stage  conventions.  The  action  of  "Monna 
Vanna"  is  arrested,  again  and  again,  by 
the  deliberate  utterances  of  Guido's  father, 
whose  mature  wisdom  broods  lovingly  over 
the  play.  We  may  remark,  in  passing, 
Maeterlinck's  fondness  for  introducing  an 
old  man  into  his  work;  a  mellow,  ripe  phi- 
losopher, whose  lengthy  sojourn  in  this 
world  has  only  filled  him  with  pity,  and 
indulgence,  and  toleration ;  who  surveys  his 
fellows,  enslaved  as  they  are  by  the  passions 
he  himself  has  passed  through,  with  the 


Preface 


xix 


gentleness  that  is  born  of  understanding; 
who  never  condemns,  but  meekly  offers  of 
the  fruits  of  his  wisdom,  realising  that  all 
that  has  happened  is  only  deeply  human. 

"The  Blue  Bird"  marked  a  change; 
here  the  philosopher  in  Maeterlinck  gave 
place  to  the  child;  "The  Blue  Bird"  was  a 
frolic,  in  which  he  let  his  imagination  and 
playfulness  run  riot,  and  have  their  un- 
checked way.  All  the  quaint  humour  in 
him,  the  fun,  the  comprehension  and  love 
of  children,  found  expression  here;  and  its 
great  success  has  proved  that  others  have 
felt  with  him.  But  it  took  two  years,  after 
the  play  had  been  written,  for  any  manager 
to  believe  that  it  had  commercial  possi- 
bilities, that  it  would  appeal  to  the  public; 
and  even  after  its  successful  production  in 
Moscow  the  experts  shook  their  heads,  one 
of  them,  in  Paris,  going  so  far  as  to  sug- 
gest that  Maeterlinck  should  call  in  a 
popular  farce-writer  as  collaborator,  to 
bring  the  thing  into  tune  1  And  it  is  more 
than  doubtful  whether  the  play  would  have 
been  seen  to  this  day,  outside  Russia,  but 
for  the  enthusiasm  and  enterprise  of  Mr. 
Herbert   Trench,    then   manager   of   the 


xx  Preface 

Haymarket  Theatre,  who  chanced  to  be  a 
poet  as  well  as  a  manager.  And  few 
things  have  delighted  Maeterlinck  more 
than  the  success  of  "The  Blue  Bird." 

IX 

It  was  the  direct  appeal  his  play  made 
to  the  great  mass  of  the  people  that  pleased 
Maeterlinck  most.  He  is  of  those  who 
value  the  crowd,  the  humbler  ones,  those 
whom  he  terms  himself  "the  guardians  of 
the  watchfires  of  the  tribe" ;  and  he  realised 
the  full  value  of  reaching  them.  And  he 
had  not,  in  the  current  phrase,  "written 
down" — no,  here  was  his  ripest  thought, 
all  that  was  best  in  him.  Had  he  not,  dar- 
ing greatly,  let  little  Tyltyl  declare  that 
"There  are  no  dead"?  Had  he  not  inter- 
woven philosophic  ideas  into  the  scheme  of 
the  play,  without  thereby  hampering  the 
joyous  spectacle,  without  puzzling  or  be- 
wildering either  adults  or  children?  He 
recognised,  as  he  should,  that  this  was  an 
achievement;  he  knew  the  deep  delight 
that  comes  to  the  author  when  he  finds  him- 
self at  one  with  the  people  he  writes  for, 
not  the  clever  ones  only,   but  those,  the 


Preface  xxi 

great  mass,  who  are  not  clever — and, 
Heaven  knows,  none  the  worse  for  thatl 
The  student  of  Maeterlinck's  work  will 
find,  in  various  of  his  essays,  the  thoughts 
that  appear,  in  a  more  smiling  form,  in  the 
play;  there  is  one  book  of  his,  "The  Buried 
Temple,"  containing  much  of  his  deepest 
and  wisest,  that  was  published  years  ago, 
and  has  never  gone  to  a  second  edition; 
now  this  play,  that  crystallises,  as  it  were, 
more  than  one  essay  of  the  book,  goes 
round  the  world,  attracting  everywhere 
rapt  and  delighted  audiences.  In  all  the 
cities  of  England  and  America,  in  the  re- 
motest places,  its  reception  is  always  the 
same;  and  it  will  remain,  for  a  long  time, 
the  monument  of  the  simplicity  of  a  man  of 
genius,  who  loved  the  people  for  whom  he 
was  writing. 

X 

"Aglavaine  and  Selysette"  is  a  work  of 
a  different  order.  A  study,  exquisite  and 
delicate,  of  the  eternal  triangle,  the  one 
man  and  the  two  women.  But  here  it  is 
not  as  in  the  ordinary  French  play  that 
deals  with  this  thorny  subject;  there  is  no 


xxii  Preface 

delirious  atmosphere  of  desire  and  passion; 
no,  here  all  is  subdued  and  tranquil,  human 
emotions  vibrate  with  subtler  harmonies, 
nothing  is  gross,  nothing  is  violent.  Sely- 
sette  is  Meleander's  girl-wife;  and  for  all 
that  she  has  a  grandmother  and  a  little 
sister,  her  past  is  as  vague  and  shadowy  as 
that  of  Melisande.  Aglavaine,  the  majes- 
tic and  stately  woman  whom  we  find  so 
often  in  Maeterlinck's  plays,  comes  to  the 
castle — it  is  always  a  castle — and  she  and 
Meleander  love  each  other,  with  a  love  that 
they  assure  themselves  is  unlike  the  love  of 
this  world.  But  behind  them  is  Nature, 
with  her  iron  laws;  and  their  love,  for  all 
their  fine  aspirations,  proves  itself  only 
human.  Ah,  the  strange,  pathetic  little 
play,  so  full  of  beauty  and  tenderness !  "Is 
it  not  strange,"  Aglavaine  says  to  Sely- 
sette,  "I  love  you,  I  love  Meleander,  he 
loves  you,  too,  you  love  us  both,  and  yet 
we  cannot  live  happily  together,  because  the 
hour  has  not  yet  come  when  human  beings 
can  thus  love  each  other."  No,  it  is  not 
possible — and  there  is  sorrow  and  disaster, 
and  Selysette  flings  herself  from  the  castle 
turret,  and  her  poor  little  body  lies  bruised 


Preface  xxiii 

and  battered  on  the  courtyard  outside.  A 
haunting  little  tragedy,  poignant  and  sad — 
with  so  much  of  human  struggle  and  de- 
spair, so  much  effort  wasted,  so  little 
achieved  I  Aglavaine  has  tried  to  be  so 
beautiful  and  lofty — poor  little  Selysette 
has  admired  her  so  much,  and  felt,  like 
Hedwig  in  the  "Wild  Duck,"  that  she  must 
offer  up  her  life,  so  that  the  others  may  be 
happy.  Never  has  a  more  heartrending 
scene  been  written  than  the  one  in  the  tower 
where  Selysette  gives  her  parting  instruc- 
tions to  little  Yssaline,  her  sister,  who  un- 
consciously is  urging  her  on  to  her  death. 
A  haunting  little  play  I 

XI 

No  levity  here,  no  frivolous  crowd  in 
the  background,  cheerfully  condoning  and 
themselves  practising  the  breach  of  the 
seventh  commandment.  No,  here  we  see 
lofty  souls,  struggling  loftily — here  the 
background  is  a  mystic  beauty,  for  which 
they  all  are  striving.  And,  deep  under- 
neath it,  Nature,  Fatality,  opposing  to 
their  fond  arguments,  their  choice  as- 
pirations, her  own  overpowering,  dynamic 


xxiv  Preface 

force.  "There  where  we  love  each  other 
we  are  higher  than  ourselves,"  says  Agla- 
vaine  when  she  tells  Selsysette  of  the  feel- 
ing she  has  for  Meleander,  "there  where 
we  love  each  other  we  are  beautiful  and 
pure."  And  again,  when  Selysette  asks 
meekly  whether  Aglavaine  has  kissed  him, 
she  replies  "Yes.  .  .  .  Because  there  are 
things  that  can  only  be  said  in  a  kiss.  .  .  . 
Because  the  things  in  us  that  are  deepest 
and  purest  perhaps  will  not  arise  from 
our  soul  unless  a  kiss  have  summoned 
them.  ..."  Ah  no,  they  believe  these 
things,  but  they  are  not  true;  and  for  all 
their  pious  desires  and  strivings,  the  day 
comes  when  they  have  to  confess  to  each 
other,  Aglavaine  and  Meleander,  that  their 
love  is  not  that  of  a  brother  and  sister; 
and  the  tragedy,  the  inevitable  tragedy 
that  must  attend  one  of  them  creeps  on, 
slowly  and  stealthily,  inexorably,  and  seizes 
on  the  weakest  of  the  three;  and  at  the  end 
we  find  the  unhappy  Meleander  cursing 
"the  beauty  that  brings  unhappiness  in  its 
train,  the  wisdom  that  tries  to  be  too 
beautiful — and,  above  all,  destiny  that  re- 
mains so  deaf  to  all.  ..." 


Preface  xxv 

XII 
For  here,  in  Its  essence,  as  in  his  earlier 
plays,  we  find  Maeterlinck's  people  strug- 
gling, blindly  and  helplessly,  against  Fate. 
The  fate  that  makes  one  law  for  men  and 
women,  and  admits  no  exception,  not  even 
in  favour  of  the  loftiest  souls,  of  idealists 
and  dreamers.  Aglavaine  herself  has  to 
realise  that  her  spacious  arguments  have 
failed  helplessly  before  life,  with  its  ruth- 
less logic;  Selysette  tries,  too,  like  the 
others;  and  her  only  way  is  death.  The 
bruised  little  body  in  the  courtyard  is  the 
achievement  of  these  three  people  who 
have  striven  for  something  that  was  be- 
yond their  power;  we  are  shown  that 
what  is  beautiful  cannot  take  the  place  of 
what  is  merely  human.  Treated  as  only 
Maeterlinck  could  treat  it,  this  little  play, 
with  its  half-tones,  its  strange  recurrences 
of  phrase  and  idea,  its  snatches  of  song,  its 
pale  sunlight  piercing  the  gloom,  its  image 
of  little  Selysette  smiling  through  her 
tears,  and  weeping  through  her  smiles, 
grips  the  heart  almost  painfully,  and  stirs 
something  that  lies  very  deep.  There  are 
faults  in  the  play,  no  doubt;  I  leave  their 


xxvi  Preface 

enumeration  to  others.  For  me,  who  love 
it,  it  remains  the  moving  story  of  the  en- 
deavour, and  failure,  of  noble  souls  to  act 
nobly. 

Alfred  Sutro. 


PERSONS  OF  THE  PLAY 
Meleander 
Aglavaine 
Selysette 

Meligrane  (Selysette's  grandmother) 
Little  Yssaline  (Selysette's  sister) 


AGLAVAINE  AND  SELYSETTE 

ACT  FIRST 

A  Room  in  the  Castle 
Meligrane   is  asleep  on  a  high-backed 
chair  at  the  far  end  of  the  room.    En- 
ter Meleander  and  Selysette. 

MELEANDER 

I  will  read  you  Aglavaine's  letter:  "Do  not 
go  out  to  meet  me.  Wait  for  me  in 
the  room  wherein  you  linger,  every 
evening — and  thus  I  shall  not  come 
upon  you  as  a  stranger.  It  is  as  I 
leave  the  boat  that  has  brought  me  to 
you  that  I  write  these  lines.  Our 
crossing  was  very  calm  and  beautiful, 
but,  when  I  landed,  I  found  the  roads 
all  sodden  with  rain;  and  the  sun  will 
probably  have  set  ere  I  behold  the 


2  Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

towers  of  the  old  castle  where  our 
good  Selysette  has  offered  shelter  to 
her  brother's  widow.   .    .   .., 

SELYSETTE 

(clapping  her  hands) 
Oh!  the  sun  is  setting!  .  .  .  Look! — she 
must  be  near  at  hand.  ...  I  will  see 
whether  .... 

MELEANDER 

(staying  her  with  a  gesture tand  continuing 
to  read) 

"...  I  have  only  seen  you  once,  Melean- 
der,  and  it  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
confusion  and  distraction  of  my  wed- 
ding— my  poor  wedding,  alas !  where 
we  beheld  not  the  guest  none  ever  in- 
vite, who  yet  always  usurps  the  seat 
of  the  happiness  we  look  for.  Only 
once  have  I  seen  you,  and  more  than 
three  years  have  passed  since  then; 
but  I  come  to  you  as  confidently  as 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette  3 

though  we  two  had  known  each  other 
from  infancy,  and  had  been  rocked  to 
sleep  in  the  same  cradle.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

(turning  round) 
Oh !   Grandam  is  still  asleep !  .  .  .  Ought 
we    to    wake    her    when    Aglavaine 
comes?   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Yes,  it  is  her  wish.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Her  eyes  are  almost  hidden  beneath  her 
white  hair.  .  .  .  She  is  not  happy 
to-night.  .  .  .  Oh!  I  want  to  kiss 
her.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Be  careful  you  do  not  wake  her  too  soon. 
.  .  .  (He  continues  to  read)  "And, 
coming  to  you,  I  know  full  well  that 
it  is  as  a  brother  you  will  greet  me! 
.    .    .   We   said   but   little   to    each 


4  Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

other,  and  yet  the  few  words  you 
spoke  to  me  were  different  from  all 
those  I  had  heard  till  then.  .  .  ." 

SELYSETTE 

Do  not  read  so  quickly.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 
(reading) 
'*....  And  besides,  I  look  forward  so 
eagerly  to  taking  Selysette  in  my 
arms!  .  .  .  She  must  be  good,  she 
must  be  beautiful,  since  she  loves  you 
and  has  your  love.  I  feel  that  I  shall 
love  her  much  more  than  you  ever  can, 
for  I  know  how  to  give  more  love;  I 
have  been  unhappy.  .  .  .  And  now, 
I  am  glad  to  have  suffered;  I  shall  be 
able  to  share  with  you  all  that  sorrow 
brings  us.  There  are  times  when  I 
think  that  the  tribute  I  have  paid  may 
well  suffice  for  the  three  of  us;  that 
destiny   can   have   no    further  claim 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette  5 

upon  us,  and  that  we  may  look,  for- 
ward to  a  marvellous  life.  We  shall 
seek  happiness,  and  naught  beside. 
We  shall  so  fill  ourselves,  and  all 
around  us,  with  beauty,  that  there  will 
no  longer  be  room  for  sorrow  or  mis- 
fortune ;  and,  would  these  none  the  less 
force  their  entrance,  needs  must  they 
too  become  beautiful  before  they  dare 
knock  at  our  door." 

{A    door    opens.      Enter    little 
Yssaline.) 

YSSALINE 

I  have  the  key,  little  sister,   I  have  the 
key!    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

What  key? 

SELYSETTE 

The  key  of  the  old  tower. 

MELEANDER 

I  thought  it  was  lost.    .    .    . 


6  Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

I  have  had  another  one  made. 

MELEANDER 

I  hope  you  will  lose  that  one,  too. 

SELYSETTE 

(examining  the  key) 
Oh!  how  large  it  is!    .    .    .It  does  not 
look  like  the  one  I  lost. 

YSSALINE 

I  was  there,  little  sister,  when  they  tried  it. 
.  .  .  They  opened  the  door  three 
times,  then  they  shut  it  again.  .  .  . 
It  fits  much  better  than  the  other  key, 
which  was  all  rusty.  .  .  .  But  it 
was  hard  to  close  the  last  time,  because 
of  the  wind,  which  was  pushing  from 
the  other  side.  .  .  .  There  is  a 
great  wind  to-night.  You  can  hear  the 
sea-gulls  all  round  the  tower;  and  the 
doves,  too.  .  .  .  They  have  not  yet 
gone  to  sleep.    .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette  7 

SELYSETTE 

They  are  looking  for  me;  they  have  not 
seen  me  up  there  for  a  long  time — two 
weeks  and  more.  ...  I  will  go  to- 
morrow. 

YSSALINE 

With  me,  little  sister? 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  if  you  will  go  to  bed  at  once;  your 
nurse  is  waiting.  .  .  .  (Yssaline 
goes.)     She  is  beautiful?   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Who? 

SELYSETTE 

Aglavaine. 

MELEANDER 

Yes,  very  beautiful.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Whom  is  she  like? 


8  Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

MELEANDER 

She  is  like  no  other  woman.  .  .  .  Her 
beauty  is  different,  that  is  all  .  .  . 
stranger  and  more  ethereal ;  it  is  never 
the  same — one  might  almost  say  it  was 
more  manifold  .  .  .  it  is  a  beauty 
along  which  the  soul  can  pass  unhin- 
dered.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  know  I  am  not  beautiful.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

You  will  never  say  that  again,  once  she  is 
here.  It  is  impossible  to  say  anything 
one  does  not  believe,  or  that  is  useless, 
in  her  presence.  Nothing  can  live 
near  her  that  is  not  true.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Nothing  can  live  near  her  that  is  not 
true.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Selysette?   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette  9 

SELYSETTE 

Meleander  ? 

MELEANDER 

We  have  lived  together  for  nearly  four 
years,  have  we  not  ?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  will  be  four  years,  when  the  summer 
ends. 

MELEANDER 

Nearly  four  years  that  you  have  been  by 
my  side,  always  beautiful,  always  ten- 
der and  loving,  and  the  soft  smile  on 
your  lips  revealed  the  deep  happiness 
within.  .  .  .  Tell  me,  you  have  not 
shed  many  tears  during  these  four 
years  ?  At  most  some  few  little  tears 
when  a  pet  bird  flew  away,  or  your 
grandmother  reproved  you,  or  your 
favorite  flowers  died.  But  no  sooner 
had  the  bird  returned,  or  your  grand- 
mother forgiven  you,  than  you  came 
back  into  the  room  laughing  merrily 


io        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

and  leapt  on  my  knee,  kissing  me  like 
a  little  girl  home  from  school.  I  think 
we  may  fairly  claim  to  have  been 
happy;  and  yet  there  are  times  when  I 
wonder  whether  we  have  truly  lived 
near  enough  to  each  other.  ...  I 
know  not  whether  it  was  I  who  lacked 
the  patience  to  follow  you,  or  you  who 
fled  too  swiftly;  but  often,  when  I 
tried  to  speak  to  you  as  I  spoke  just 
now,  you  would  seem  to  reply  to  me 
from  the  other  end  of  the  world, 
where  reasons  unknown  to  me  had  im- 
pelled you  to  seek  refuge.  .  .  .  I  do 
not  know  why  this  is  borne  home  to 
me  so  clearly  this  evening. — Is  it  be- 
cause Aglavaine  lives  more  freshly  in 
my  memory?  Has  her  letter,  the 
news  of  her  arrival,  already  freed 
something  in  our  soul? — You  and  I 
would  seem  to  have  loved  each  other 
as  much  as  it  is  possible  to  love.    But, 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        1 1 

when  she  is  here,  we  shall  love  each 
other  still  more;  we  shall  love  each 
other  differently,  more  deeply — you 
will  see.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Love  her  if  you  will.  I  shall  go  away.  .  .  . 

MELEANDER 

Selysette!    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  know  that  I  cannot  understand.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

You  do  understand,  Selysette,  and  it  is  be- 
cause I  know  that  you  understand, 
though  you  feign  the  contrary,  that  I 
speak  to  you  of  these  things.  .  .  . 
There  are  depths  in  your  soul  that  you 
never  reveal  to  me;  nay,  you  take 
pleasure  in  hiding  them.  .  .  .  Do 
not  cry,  Selysette,  I  am  not  reproach- 
ing you.    .    .    . 


12        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

I  was  not  crying.    Wherefore  should  I  cry? 

MELEANDER 

And  yet  I  can  see  that  your  lips  are  trem- 
bling.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

My  thoughts  were  far  away.   .    .    .   Is  it 
true  that  she  has  been  unhappy  ? 

MELEANDER 

Yes,  she  has  been  unhappy  on  account  of 
your  brother.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Perhaps  she  deserved  to  be.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

I  doubt  whether  a  woman  can  ever  deserve 
to  be  unhappy.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

What  was  it  my  brother  did  ? 

MELEANDER 

She  begged  me  not  to  tell  you.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        13 

SELYSETTE 

You  have  been  writing  to  each  other? 

MELEANDER 

Yes ;  from  time  to  time. 

SELYSETTE 

You  never  told  me. 

MELEANDER 

When  her  letters  came  I  have  more  than 
once  shown  them  to  you,  but  you  did 
not  seem  anxious  to  read  them.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  don't  remember.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

But  I  remember  it  well.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Where  was  it  that  you  saw  her  for  the  last 
time? 

MELEANDER 

Have  I  not  told  you  I  only  saw  her  once? 
It  was  in  the  garden  of  your  brother's 


14       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

castle.   .    .    .  With     great     trees 
spreading  over  us.   .    .  ,. 

SELYSETTE 

In  the  evening  ? 

MELEANDER 

Yes;  in  the  evening. 

SELYSETTE 

What  did  she  say  ? 

MELEANDER 

We  said  but  little  to  each  other.  But  we 
could  see  that  the  lives  of  both  of  us 
tended  towards  the  same  goal.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Did  you  kiss  each  other? 

MELEANDER 

When? 

SELYSETTE 

On  that  evening.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Yes,  when  I  went  away.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        15 

SELYSETTE 
Ah! 

MELEANDER 

I  think  she  will  stay  but  a  short  time  with 
us,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no;  I  want  her  to  stay.  ,«,  •  .  ( There 
is  a  noise  outside.)  There  she  is  I 
(She  runs  to  the  window.)  There  are 
torches  in  the  courtyard. 

(A  moment's  silence.  The  great 
door  opens  and  Aglavaine 
appears  on  the  threshold. 
She  comes  in  without  saying 
a  word,  and  stands  in  front 
of  Selysette,  looking  fix- 
edly at  her.) 

MELEANDER 

Will  you  not  kiss  each  other? 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes.      (She  presses  a  long  kiss  on  Sely- 


1 6       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

setters  lips,  then  goes  to  Melean- 
der,  whom  she  kisses  likewise.)  And 
you,  too.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  must  wake  grandam.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

(looking  at  Meligrane) 
How  profoundly  she  sleeps!   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

She  sleeps  like  this  for  many  hours  each 
day.  .  .  .  Her  arms  are  paralysed. 
.  .  .  Go  close  to  her;  she  wishes 
to  see  you  to-night.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

(taking  Meligrane's  hand  and  bending 

over  her) 
Grandmother!   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

(awaking) 
Selysette!   .    .    .    (She  opens  her  eyes.) 
Oh !  who  are  you  ? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        17 

AGLAVAINE 

Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

I  was  startled.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

May  I  kiss  you,  grandmother? 

MELIGRANE 

You  call  me  grandmother?  I  cannot  see 
you  very  well.  .  .  .  Who  is  that  be- 
hind you  ? 

SELYSETTE 

(coming  forward) 
It  is  I,  grandam. 

MELIGRANE 
Ah !  it  is  you,  Selysette.    ...   I  could  not 
see  you.    .    .    .   Bring  the  lamp  a  lit- 
tle nearer,  my  child.    .    .    . 

(Selysette     brings    a     lamp, 
whose  light  falls  on  Agla- 

VAINE.) 


1 8        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

MELIGRANE 

(looking  at  Aglavaine) 
Oh!  you  are  beautiful  I   .    .   ,. 

AGLAVAINE 

May  I  kiss  you  now,  grandmother  ? 

MELIGRANE 

No;  do  not  kiss  me  to-night.  .  .  .  The 
pain  is  worse  than  usual.  Selysette  is 
the  only  one  who  can  touch  me  with- 
out hurting. 

AGLAVAINE 

That  is  what  I  want  to  learn,  too — to  touch 
without  hurting.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 
Kiss  me,  Selysette,  before  I  go  to  sleep 
again,  and  take  away  the  lamp.   .    .    . 
I    was    in    the    midst   of    a    strange 
dream.    .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        19 

SELYSETTE 

(going  back  with  the  lamp) 

You    must    forgive    her;    she    suffers    so 
much.   .    .    . 

t 

AGLAVAINE 
What  is  there  to  forgive,  Selysette?  You 
have  dropped  something.  .  .  . 
What  is  it  that  has  fallen  on  the  floor? 
(She  picks  up  a  key.)  Oh!  what  a 
strange  key!    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  is  the  key  of  my  tower.   .    .    .   You 
don't  know  all  that  it  unlocks. 

AGLAVAINE 
It  is  strange  and  heavy.  ...  I,  too,  have 
brought  a  golden  key;  you  shall  see. 
...  A  key  is  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  things,  so  long  as  we  do  not  know 
what  it  unlocks.   .    .    . 


20       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

You  shall  know  to-morrow.  .  .  .  Did 
you  notice,  as  you  came  here,  a  very 
old  tower,  with  its  turret  in  ruins,  at 
the  far  end  of  the  castle  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes;  I  saw  something  that  seemed  to  be 
crumbling  beneath  the  sky.  The  stars 
shone  through  the  crevices  in  the  wall. 

Selysette 
Well,  that  is  it ;  it  is  my  tower — an  old  for- 
saken lighthouse.  No  one  dare  go  up. 
.  .  .  You  have  to  traverse  a  long 
corridor,  of  which  I  found  the  key. 
But  then  I  lost  it  again.  .  .  .  Now 
I  have  had  another  one  made,  for  I 
am  the  only  one  who  goes  there. 
Sometimes  I  take  Yssaline.  Melean- 
der  only  went  once;  he  felt  giddy.  It 
is  very  high — you  will  see.  The  ocean 
stretches  before  you.     It  foams  all 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        21 

round  the  tower,  except  on  the  castle 
side.  And  all  the  birds  of  the  sea  live 
in  the  crevices  of  the  walls.  They 
send  forth  loud  cries  when  they  recog- 
nise me.  There  are  hundreds  of 
doves,  too ;  people  tried  to  drive  them 
away,  but  they  refuse  to  leave  the 
tower.  They  always  come  back. 
.    .    .   Are  you  tired  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes,  a  little,  Selysette.  I  have  had  a  long 
journey. 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  of  course.  .  .  .  We  will  go  thither 
to-morrow;  and  besides,  there  is  a 
strong  wind  to-night.    .    .    . 

(A  silence.) 

MELEANDER 

It  is  strange,  Aglavaine.  ...  I  had  so 
much  to  tell  you.  .  .  .  But  in  these 
first  moments  everything  is  still,  and 


22        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

I  feel  as  though  there  were  something 
for  which  we  were  waiting. 

AGLAVAINE 

We  are  waiting  for  the  silence  to 
speak.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

What  does  it  say  to  you  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

It  would  not  be  the  real  silence,  Meleander, 
were  we  able  to  repeat  all  that  it  tells 
us.  .  .  .  We  have  exchanged  a  few, 
almost  meaningless,  words — words 
that  any  one  could  have  spoken — and 
for  all  that,  do  we  not  feel  at  rest,  do 
we  not  know  that  we  have  said  things 
to  each  other  that  far  outvalue  our 
words?  We  have  uttered  the  little 
timid  words  that  strangers  speak 
when  they  meet ;  and  yet,  who  can  tell 
all  that  has  taken  place  between  the 
three  of  us?    Who  can  tell  whether 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        23 

all  that  has  to  happen  may  not  have 
been  decided  beneath  one  of  these 
words?  .  .  .  But  this  much  our 
silence  has  foretold  to  me :  that  I  shall 
love  Selysette  like  a  little  sister. 
...  It  cried  that  out  to  me, 
through  all  my  soul,  as  I  took  my  first 
step  into  the  room;  and  it  is  the  only 
voice  that  I  have  heard  clearly.  .  .  . 
(Drawing  Selysette  to  her.)  Why 
is  it,  Selysette,  that  one  has  to  love  you 
so  dearly,  and  that  the  unbidden  tears 
flow  forth  as  one  kisses  you?  .  .  . 
(She  presses  a  long  kiss  on  her  lips.) 
Come,  you,  too,  Meleander.  .  .  . 
(She  kisses  him  likewise.)  It  was  per- 
haps this  kiss  for  which  we  were  all 
waiting,  and  it  will  be  the  seal  of  our 
silence  for  the  night.   .    .    . 

(They  go  out.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        25 

ACT  SECOND 
Scene  I. — A  leafy  grove  in  the  park 

AGLAVAINE  and   MELEANDER 
MELEANDER 

For  five  or  six  days  only  have  we  been  liv- 
ing together  under  this  roof,  and  al- 
ready it  seems  to  me  that  we  must 
have  spent  our  whole  lives  together; 
that  I  must  have  known  you  before  I 
knew  myself.  All  that  I  am  appears 
to  result  from  you;  I  am  more  con- 
scious of  your  soul  than  of  my  own, 
you  are  nearer  to  me  than  all  that  is 
myself.  .  .  .  Were  you  not  there  I 
should  no  longer  be  conscious  of  my- 
self; it  is  only  in  you  that  I  can  smile, 
only  in  you  that  I  can  love.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

So  it  is  with  me,  too,  Meleander.  .  .  . 
Your  least  gesture  reveals  me  to  my- 


26       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

self;  there  is  not  a  smile,  not  a  silence, 
not  a  word  that  comes  from  you  but 
links  me  to  a  newer  beauty.  ...  I 
feel  that  I  flower  in  you  as  you  flower 
in  me;  and  we  are  ever  springing  to 
birth  again  in  each  other.  .  .  .  Our 
souls  speak  to  each  other  long  before 
the  words  leave  our  lips. 

MELEANDER 

The  same  world  is  within  us,  Aglavaine. 
God  must  have  erred  when  He  fash- 
ioned two  souls  out  of  our  one.  Where 
were  you  all  these  years  of  our  life 
when  neither  of  us  knew  of  the  other's 
existence  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

And  you,  Meleander,  where  were  you,  all 
these  years  that  I  have  been  waiting, 
in  solitude?  .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        27 

MELEANDER 

I  was  alone,  too,  and  waiting,  but  hope  had 
left  me.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  was  alone  and  waiting,  but  had  never 
ceased  to  hope.  .  .  .  Oh,  there  are 
times  when  I  feel  that  it  cannot 
be!   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

I,  too,  Aglavaine,  and  it  frightens  me.  .  .  . 

Aglavaine 
Why  should  we  be  frightened  ?   .    .    .   We 
have  found  each  other,  what  can  there 
be  to  fear  ? 

MELEANDER 

Is  it  not  at  the  very  moment  of  happiness 
that  fear  should  come  to  us?  .  .  . 
Is  that  not  the  most  ominous  time  of 
all?  for  not  a  kiss  is  given  but  an  en- 
emy may  be  awakened  .  .  .  and  be- 
sides there  is  something  else.    .    .    . 


28        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

What? 

MELEANDER 

Selysette.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Well? 

MELEANDER 

Have  you  thought  of  Selysette? 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes. 

MELEANDER 

And  does  that  not  trouble  you? 

AGLAVAINE 

No,    Meleander,   it  shall  trouble   me   no 
more.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

There  may  be  sorrow  in  store  for  her.  .  .  . 

AGLAVAINE 

Can  I  not  love  you  like  a  brother,  Melean- 
der? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       29 

MELEANDER 
But  if  her  tears  fall?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Let  her  ascend  with  us,  and  her  tears  will 
soon  cease  to  fall.  .  .  .  Why  should 
she  not  strive  hand-in-hand  with  us  to- 
ward the  love  that  disdains  the  petti- 
ness of  love?  She  is  more  beautiful 
than  you  believe,  Meleander.  We 
shall  hold  out  our  hands  to  her;  she 
will  soon  rejoin  us,  and  then  she  will 
weep  no  more.  .  .  .  And  she  will 
bless  us  for  the  tears  she  has  shed, 
for  some  tears  are  sweeter  than 
kisses.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Do  you  believe  I  can  love  you  like  a  sister, 
Aglavaine  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Ah!   .    .    . 


30  Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

MELEANDER 

Aglavaine,  do  you  believe  you  can  love  me 
like  a  brother? 

AGLAVAINE 

Now  that  you  have  asked  me,  I  no  longer 
seem  to  know,  Meleander.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

I  cannot  believe  it.  We  shall  struggle  day 
and  night;  we  shall  struggle  for  a 
long,  long  time;  and  all  that  is  finest 
in  us,  all  that  might  have  turned  into 
exquisite  love,  into  beauty  and  deep- 
est truth,  will  be  exhausted  in  this  fu- 
tile effort.  .  .  .  And  the  more  we 
struggle,  the  more  shall  we  be  con- 
scious of  a  desire  creeping  up  between 
our  two  souls  like  a  heavy  curtain. 
.  .  .  And  all  that  is  best  in  us  will 
perish,  because  of  this  desire.  .  .  . 
It  may  seem  to  mean  so  little  .  .  . 
and  yet   .    .    .   is  it  not  by  the  kiss  we 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        31 

give  that  all  things  are  transformed — 
stars  and  flowers,  night  and  morning, 
thoughts  and  tears  ?  .  ,',  ..  Is  the  im- 
mensity of  the  night  as  clear  to  the  sis- 
ter's eyes  as  it  is  to  the  woman  who 
loves  ?  Let  us  not  bar  the  door  to  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  truths,  Agla- 
vaine. .  .  .  Let  not  all  that  is  radi- 
ant in  our  two  souls  go  break  itself 
against  one  petty  falsehood.  .  .  . 
You  are  not  my  sister,  Aglavaine,  and 
I  cannot  love  you  like  a  sister.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
It  is  true  that  you  are  not  my  brother, 
Meleander;  and  it  is  here,  doubtless, 
that  suffering  awaits  us.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

I  know  it,  Aglavaine,  but  what  can  we 
do?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

It  was  destiny  brought  us  together,  Mele- 


32        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

ander.  We  recognised  each  other  as 
perhaps  two  souls  have  never  recog- 
nised each  other  before.  We  love; 
and  henceforth  nothing  in  the  world 
can  alter  my  love  for  you  or  yours  for 
me.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

That  I  believe,  too,  Aglavaine. — I  see  noth- 
ing in  the  world.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

But  if  I  brought  sorrow  to  one  who  is  in- 
nocent, would  I  be  the  same  to 
you?   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

If  she  be  sorrowful,  it  will  only  be  because 
she  has  not  understood.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Tears  are  not  less  bitter  because  they  should 
not  fall.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

There  would  be  nothing  left  us  but  to  fly 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        33 

from  each  other,  Aglavaine;  yet  that 
is  impossible.  ...  So  beautiful  a 
thing  was  not  born  only  to  die ;  and  we 
have  duties  towards  ourselves.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  believe  that,  too ;  and  I  believe  that  there 
is  something  better  to  be  done  than  to 
fly  from  each  other.  ...  In  the 
meanwhile,  if  suffering  there  must  be, 
let  that  suffering  be  ours.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

(taking  her  in  his  arms) 
You  are  beautiful,  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

(throwing  her  arms  around  him) 
I  love  you,  Meleander.   .    .    . 

( They  kiss  each  other.  A  cry  of 
pain  is  heard,  through  the 
foliage,  and  Selysette  is 
seen,  all  dishevelled,  flying 
towards  the  castle.) 


34        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

MELEANDER 

Selysette!   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes. 

MELEANDER 

She  has  overheard  us.   .    .    .   She  is  flying 
to  the  castle.   .    .   ,., 

AGLAVAINE 

(pointing  to  Selysette,  who  is  already 

far  way) 
Go  after  her!   .    .    .   Go!   .    .    . 

(He   rushes   after    Selysette. 
Aglavaine  leans  against  a 
tree  and  weeps  silently.) 
Scene  II. — In  the  depths  of  the  park.  Ag- 
lavaine is  asleep  on  a  bench,  with  a 
veil  thrown  round  her  head. 

(Enter  Selysette) 
selysette 
"Selysette,  little  Selysette,  we  must  not  let 
her  cry."    .    .    .   He   pities  me,   be- 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        35 

cause  he  no  longer  loves  me.  .  .  . 
Neither  do  I  love  him  any  more. 
.  .  .  They  fancy  that  I  shall 
keep  very  quiet,  and  that  all  they  have 
to  do  is  to  kiss  me  with  their  eyes 
turned  away.  .  .  .  "Selysette,  little 
Selysette."  .  .  .  They  say  that  very 
tenderly ;  oh,  much  more  tenderly  than 
they  used  to.  .  .  .  When  he  kisses 
me  now  he  dare  not  look  at  me,  or,  if 
he  does,  he  seems  to  be  begging  for- 
giveness. .  .  .  And  while  they  are 
embracing  each  other  I  must  crouch 
away  and  hide,  as  though  I  had  stolen 
something.  .  .  .  They  have  gone 
out  again  to-night,  and  I  have  lost 
sight  of  them.  .  .  .  "Little  Sely- 
sette" is  not  in  the  secret  ...  we 
always  smile  when  we  speak  to  her 
...  we  kiss  her  on  the  forehead 
.  .  .  and  bring  her  flowers  and 
fruit.   .    .    .   The  stranger  takes  "lit- 


36       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

tie  Selysette"  under  her  wing  .  .  . 
and  we  cry  when  we  kiss  her,  and  say, 
"Poor  little  thing  .  .  .  there  is 
nothing  to  be  done.  .  .  .  She  will 
not  go  away  .  .  .  but  at  least  she 
shall  not  see  anything"  .  .  .  and 
when  her  head  is  turned  we  take  each 
other  by  the  hand  .  .  .  yes,  yes,  till 
the  time  comes  .  .  .  only  wait, 
wait.  .  .  .  "Little  Selysette"  will 
have  her  day,  too.  .  .  .  She  does 
not  yet  quite  know  what  she  ought  to 
do,  but  wait  a  little  ...  we  shall 
see.  .  .  .  (Perceiving  Aglavaine 
on  the  bench.)  There  they  are!  .  .  . 
Asleep  in  each  other's  arms!  .  .  . 
Oh !  this !  this !  .  .  .  I  must  .  .  . 
Yssaline!  Grandam!  .  .  .  They 
must  see  .  .  .  they  must  see  this! 
.  .  .  There  is  no  one  coming! 
...  I  am  alone,  always.  ...  I 
will.   .    .    .    (Going   closer)    She   is 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        37 

alone,  too  .  .  .  was  it  a  ray  of  the 
moon  or  her  white  veil?  Perhaps. 
.  .  .  She  is  asleep.  What  shall  I 
do?  .  .  .  Oh,  she  doesn't  know  I 
.  .  .  She  is  on  the  brink  of  the  well; 
a  sudden  turn  and  she  would  fall  in. 
...  It  has  been  raining  .  .  . 
she  threw  her  veil  over  her  head,  but 
her  bosom  is  bare  .  .  .  she  is  wet 
through  .  .  .  how  cold  she  must 
be  .  .  .  this  country  is  strange  to 
her.  .  .  .  Oh,  how  she  trembles  in 
her  sleep  1  ...  I  will  put  my  cloak 
around  her  .  .  .  (She  covers  Ag- 
lavaine up  and  lifts  the  veil  that 
hides  her  face.)  How  deep  is  this 
sleep  of  hers  I  .  .  .  She  looks  as 
though  she  had  been  crying  .  .  . 
she  does  not  seem  happy  .  .  .  she 
seems  no  happier  than  I.  .  .  .  How 
pale  she  is;  she  is  crying  too,  I  see. 
.    .    .   She  is  beautiful.    .    .    .   She  is 


38        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

even  more  beautiful  when  she  is  so 
pale  .  .  .  she  seems  to  blend  with 
the  light  of  the  moon  ...  I  must 
wake  her  gently  .  .  .  she  might  be 
frightened  and  fall  into  the  well  .  .  . 
(Bending  tenderly  over  her.)  Agla- 
vaine  .    .    .   Aglavaine   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
(waking) 
Ah!    .    .    .   how  light  it  is.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Be  careful  .  .  .  you  are  on  the  edge. 
.  .  r.  Don't  turn  round,  you  would 
be  giddy.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Where  am  I? 

SELYSETTE 

By  the  side  of  the  castle  well.  Did  you  not 
know?  .  .  .  You  should  not  come 
here  alone.  One  has  to  be  very  care- 
ful ;  this  spot  is  dangerous.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        39 

AGLAVAINE 

I  did  not  know  ...  it  was  so  dark. 
...  I  saw  the  boxwood  hedge,  and 
a  bench.  ...  I  was  weary,  and 
sad.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Are  you  cold?  Draw  the  cloak  around 
you.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Whose  cloak  is  this?  Yours,  Selysette? 
You  put  it  over  me  while  I  was  sleep- 
ing? You  must  be  cold,  too.  .  .  . 
Come  hither,  let  me  wrap  it  round  you, 
too.  .  .  .  You  are  trembling  more 
than  I.  .  .  .  (Turning  round.) 
Oh!  .  .  .  Now  that  the  moon  has 
risen  I  can  see  the  glimmer  of  the 
water  between  the  walls.  .  .  .  If  I 
had  moved  .  .  .  and  it  is  you. 
.  .  .  (She  throws  a  long  look  at 
Selysette  and  puts  her  arms  around 
her.)     Selysette.    .    .    . 


40       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

Let  us  not  stay  here.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

We  should  never  resist  moments  such  as 
these,  Selysette.  .  .  r.  They  do  not 
come  a  second  time.  ...  I  have 
seen  your  soul,  Selysette,  for  just  now 
you  loved  me,  though  it  was  against 
your  will.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Let  us  go,  Aglavaine  .  .  .  there  is  fever 
about  this  place.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  beseech  you,  Selysette,  do  not  try  to  es- 
cape me  at  the  very  moment  when  all 
that  is  deepest  in  you  is  striving  to- 
wards me.  .  .  .  Do  you  think  we 
shall  ever  be  nearer  to  each  other? 
.  .  .  Shall  we  allow  little  childish 
words,  little  words  that  are  as  thorns, 
to  steal  between  these  poor  hearts  of 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        41 

ours?  .  .  .  Come  close  to  me,  Sely- 
sette, come  close  to  me  in  the  night 
and  let  my  arms  enfold  you;  and  it 
matters  not  though  you  find  no  words. 
.  .  .  Something  is  speaking  within 
you,  and  I  hear  it  as  you  hear  it.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

(bursting  into  tears) 
Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Aglavaine's  tears  are  falling,  too,  Selysette. 
.    .    .   She   is   weeping   because   she 
too    is    ignorant    of   the    thing   that 
should  be  done,  the  thing  that  should 
be  said.   .   ...    .   We  are  alone  here, 

my  poor  Selysette ;  we  two  are  all  alone 
here  in  the  darkness,  clinging  close  to 
each  other  .  .  .  and  the  happiness 
or  unhappiness  that  must  befall  is  be- 
ing decided  within  us,  at  this  very  mo- 
ment, perhaps.   .    .    .   But  what  is  to 


42        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

be  none  can  tell.  And  I  have  only  my 
tears  with  which  to  question  the  fu- 
ture. I  held  myself  the  wiser  of  the 
two,  but  now  that  the  moment  has 
come  that  calls  for  wisdom  I  feel  that 
my  need  of  you  is  greater  than  your 
need  of  me.  And  therefore  do  my 
tears  flow,  Selysette,  and  therefore  do 
I  press  my  lips  upon  yours,  so  that  we 
two  may  be  as  near  as  we  possibly  can 
to  that  which  is  being  decided  in  the 
depths  of  us.  I  hurt  you  sorely  this 
morning.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no ;  you  did  not  hurt  me.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  hurt  you  sorely  this  morning,  and  my  one 
desire  is  never  to  hurt  you  again.  But 
how  can  we  help  giving  pain  to  those 
we  love  most?   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       43 

SELYSETTE 

(sobbing) 
Aglavaine ! 

AGLAVAINE 

What  is  it,  Selysette?    You  are  trembling. 

SELYSETTE 

It   was   the    first    time    I    had    seen   you 
asleep.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  will  often  see  me  asleep,  Selysette. 

SELYSETTE 

And  nQ  one  had  ever  told  me  anything. 
.    .    .   No. one,  no  one! 

AGLAVAINE 
Yes,  yes,  my  poor  Selysette,  they  will  doubt- 
less have  told  you  the  things  they  tell 
to  all.    But  you  had  not  yet  learned  to 
listen.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  was  not  the  same  thing.   .    .    .   Never, 
never.    .    .    . 


44       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

Because  you  did  not  listen,  Selysette;  and 
look  you,  it  is  not  only  the  ear  that  lis- 
tens; and  the  things  that  I  am  saying 
to  you  now  have  not  been  truly  heard 
save  by  your  heart  alone,  and  your 
heart  has  flung  the  words  aside,  and 
gathered  only  that  I  love  you.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  love  you,  too.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

And  therefore  have  you  listened  to  me,  and 
understood  so  well  all  that  I  cannot 
say.  It  is  not  only  our  hands  that  are 
joined  at  this  moment,  my  poor  Sely- 
sette. .  .  .  But  Meleander  loves 
you,  too.  Why  would  you  not  listen 
to  him?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

He  is  not  like  you,  Aglavaine.    .... 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       45 

AGLAVAINE 

He  is  better  than  I;  and  more  than  once 
must  he  have  spoken  to  you  far  more 
wisely  than  I  could  speak.   .    .   ;. 

SELYSETTE 

No,  nol  it  is  not  the  same  thing.  .  .  . 
Listen,  I  cannot  quite  explain  what  I 
mean.  When  he  is  there  I  hide  within 
myself.  ...  I  keep  back  my  tears. 
.    .    .   I  do  not  want  him  to  think  I 

understand My   love   is   too 

great.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Say  on,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  is  so  difficult.  .  .  .  You  will  never  un- 
derstand, and  I  know  not  how  to  tell 
you.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Though  I  fail  to  understand  your  words,  I 


46        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

shall  know  what  your  tears  are  say- 
ing.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Well,  there  it  is,  Aglavaine.  .  .  .  I  do 
not  want  him  to  love  me  for  anything 
else.  ...  I  want  him  to  love  me 
because  it  is  I.  .  .  .  Oh,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  quite  what  I  mean  I 
.  .  .  I  do  not  want  him  to  love  me 
because  I  agree  with  him,  or  because  I 
can  answer  him.  ...  It  is  as 
though  I  were  jealous  of  myself.  Can 
you  understand  a  little,  Aglavaine  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

When  we  look  into  a  crystal  vase  we  can 
soon  tell  whether  there  be  pure  water 
within,  Selysette.  .  .  .  You  were 
afraid  lest  he  should  see  how  beautiful 
you  are.  .  .  .  This  fear  comes 
often  to  those  who  love,  and  know  not 
why  they   fear.   .    .    .  We   are   too 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       47 

anxious,  perhaps,  that  the  othere 
should  divine.  .  .  .  And  it  is  a  fear 
that  should  be  overcome.  .  .  .  For 
look  you,  Selysette,  by  dint  of  hiding 
from  others  the  self  that  is  in  us,  we 
may  end  by  being  unable  to  find  it  our- 
selves.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  know  I  am  not  wise,  Aglavaine.  .  .  . 
I  would  have  him  love  me,  even 
though  I  knew  nothing,  though  I  did 
nothing,  though  I  saw  nothing,  though 
I  were  nothing.  ...  I  feel  that  I 
would  have  him  love  me  though  I  no 
longer  existed.  .  .  .  And  so  I  hid, 
I  hid.  ...  I  wanted  to  keep  every- 
thing hidden.  .  .  .  It  is  not  his 
fault,  Aglavaine.  .  .  .  And  so  I 
was  glad  when  he  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders or  shook  his  head  as  he  kissed 
me  .  .  .  much  happier  than  when 
he  admired  me.    .    .    .    But  I  suppose 


48        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

I  am  wrong  in  wishing  to  be  loved  like 
this?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Who  can  tell  how  we  should  love,  Sely- 
sette? .  .  .  Some  love  one  way, 
some  another;  love  does  this  or  that, 
and  it  is  always  well,  because  it  is  love. 
...  In  the  very  heart  of  us  have 
we  built  love's  cage,  and  we  eye  it  as 
we  would  a  vulture  or  strange  eagle. 
.  .  .  The  cage  is  ours,  but  the  bird 
belongs  to  none.  .  .  .  There  is 
nothing  in  the  world  that  is  further 
from  us  than  our  love,  my  poor  Sely- 
sette. Needs  must  we  wait,  and  try 
to  understand.    .    .    ... 

SELYSETTE 

You  love  him,  Aglavaine  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Whom,  Selysette? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       49 

SELYSETTE 

Meleander.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

How  can  I  help  loving  him? 

SELYSETTE 

But  do  you  love  him  as  I  love  him  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

I  try  to  love  him  as  I  love  you,  Selysette. 

SELYSETTE 

But  if  your  love  for  him  became  too 
great?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  do  not  think  one's  love  can  ever  be  too 
great. 

SELYSETTE 

But  if  he  loved  you  more  than  he  loves  me? 

AGLAVAINE 

He  will  love  in  you  what  he  loved  in  me, 
for  it  is  all  one.  .  .  .  There  is  not 
a  creature  in  the  world  so  like  to  me 
as  Meleander.     How  could  he  not 


50       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

love  you,  seeing  that  I  love  you  ?  And 
how  could  I  love  you  if  he  did  not? 
He  would  no  longer  be  like  himself,  or 
like  me.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

There  is  nothing  in  me  that  he  can  love, 
and  you  know  so  much  that  I  shall 
never  know.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Ah,  Selysette,  believe  me  when  I  tell  you 
that  all  my  knowledge  may  well  be 
worth  no  more  than  what  you  deem 
your  ignorance.  ...  I  shall  show 
him  that  you  are  more  beautiful  than 
he  thought,  that  your  feelings  lie  far 
deeper,  too.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Can  you  bring  about  that  he  will  still  love 
me  when  you  are  there? 

AGLAVAINE 

Were  he  no  longer  to  love  you  because  of 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        51 

my  being  here,  I  would  go  away  at 
once,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  will  not  let  you  go  away.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

And  yet  that  would  have  to  be,  for  I  should 
no  longer  love.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  would  make  me  very  unhappy,  Agla- 
vaine. .  .  .  Oh,  I  am  beginning  to 
love  you,  to  love  you !   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  have  loved  you  a  long  time.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  have  not ;  and  when  I  first  saw  you  I  did 
not  love  you,  though  I  loved  you  all 
the  same.  .  .  .  There  was  a  mo- 
ment when  I  wanted  .  .  .oh! 
wicked  things,  very  wicked.  .  .  . 
But  I  did  not  know  that  you  were  like 


52        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

this.     I  should  have  been  wicked  had 
I  been  you.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

No,  no,  Selysette  ...  in  your  real  self 
you  would  never  have  been  wicked, 
but,  being  unhappy,  you  would  not 
have  known  how  to  be  good.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  should  like  to  kiss  you  again,  Aglavaine. 
.  .  .  It  is  strange;  at  first  I  could 
not  kiss  you.  .  .  .  Oh !  I  was  afraid 
of  your  lips  ...  I  know  not  why 
.  .  .  and  now.  .  .  .  Does  he  of- 
ten kiss  you  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

He? 

SELYSETTE 

Yes. 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes,  Selysette,  and  I  kiss  him,  too. 

SELYSETTE 

Why? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        $y 

AGLAVAINE 

Because  there  are  things  that  only  a  kiss  can 
tell.  .  .  .  Because  it  is  perhaps  only 
when  summoned  by  a  kiss  that  all  that 
is  deepest  and  purest  issues  forth  from 
our  soul.   ... 

SELYSETTE 

You  can  kiss  him  when  I  am  there,  Agla- 
vaine.  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

If  you  wish  it  I  will  never  kiss  him  again. 

SELYSETTE 
(suddenly  bursting  into  tears) 
And  you  can  kiss  him  when  I  am  not  there. 
...    I  am  glad  I  awakened  you,  Ag- 
lavaine.  .    .    . 

(She    leans    on    Aglavaine's 
shoulder  and  sobs  softly.) 

AGLAVAINE 

I  am  glad  I  awakened  you,  Selysette. 
.    ,    .    Come,  let  us  go.    .    .    .   It  is 


54       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

well  not  to  linger  too  long  in  a  spot 
where  one's  soul  has  been  happier  than 
a  human  soul  may  be.   .    .    . 

(  They  go  out  together  with  their 
arms  about  each  other.) 

Scene  III. — A  room  in  the  castle 
Meligrane  and  Selysette  are  at  the  far 
end  in  the  shadow. 

MELIGRANE 

It  is  too  much  for  you,  my  poor  Selysette, 
say  what  you  will.  .  .  .  You  shake 
your  head,  but  at  this  very  moment 
you  are  wiping  away  your  tears.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

But,  grandam,  have  I  not  told  you  that  it 
is  only  because  I  am  happy  that  my 
tears  flow?   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

When  people  are  happy  they  do  not  cry 
like  that.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        55 

SELYSETTE 

Oh,  yes,  they  must;  otherwise,  why  should 
I  be  crying?   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Listen  to  me,  Selysette.  .  .  .  Just  now  I 
heard  all  you  had  to  tell  me  about  Ag- 
lavaine. I  cannot  speak  as  she  does. 
I  am  an  old  woman  who  knows  but 
little,  yet  I  have  suffered,  too,  and  you 
are  all  I  have  in  the  world.  .  .  . 
There  are  truths  in  these  things,  let  me 
tell  you,  that  may,  perhaps,  not  be  as 
beautiful  as  those  whereof  Aglavaine 
speaks;  but  it  is  not  always  the  most 
beautiful  truths  that  are  right,  and 
the  oldest  and  simplest  that  are 
wrong.  .  .  .  One  thing  is  very 
clear  to  me,  my  poor  Selysette;  that, 
for  all  your  smiles,  your  cheek  is  ever 
growing  paler  and  paler,  and  no 
sooner  do  you  believe  you  are  alone 


56       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

than  your  tears  begin  to  flow.   .    .    . 
(Aglavaine      enters,      unper- 
ceived,  at  the  back  of  the 
room.) 

MELIGRANE 

.  .  .  And  tell  me  how  you  think  all  this 
can  end.  ...  I  haye  turned  it  over 
patiently,  sitting  here  in  this  corner  of 
mine,  and  I  am  doing  what  I  can  to 
speak  calmly,  though  I  grieve  to  see 
the  suffering  that  has  come  to  you,  and 
that  you  have  done  nothing  to  deserve. 
There  are  only  two  human  solutions  to 
sorrows  such  as  these ;  either  must  one 
of  you  die  or  the  other  go  away. 
.  .  .  And  who  should  go  away,  if 
not  the  one  whom  destiny  sent  too 
late?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Why  she,  rather  than  the  one  who  came  too 
soon? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        $j 

AGLAVAINE 

{coming  forward) 
One  cannot  come  too  soon,  my  poor  Sely- 
sette  .    .    .   one  comes  when  the  hour 
has  sounded,  and  I  think  our  grand- 
mother is  right.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

If  she  be  right  there  is  much  unhappiness 
before  us.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

And  if  she  be  wrong,  there  will  still  be 
tears.  .  .  .  Adieu,  Selysette.  It  is 
late;  Meleandcr  is  waiting  for 
you.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Will  you  not  come  and  embrace  him  with 
me,  Aglavaine? 

AGLAVAINE 

I  shall  never  kiss  him  again,  Selysette.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

What   has   happened,   Aglavaine?     Your 


58       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

eyes  are  shining.     You  are  keeping 
something  from  me.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

My  eyes  are  shining  because  I  have  no 
longer  anything  to  keep  back,  Sely- 
sette. .  .  .  But  a  few  moments  ago 
I  realised  how  far  deeper  his  love  lay 
for  you  than  he  imagined.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Did  he  say  so?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Nay,  if  he  had  said  so  I  should  not  have 
been  so  sure.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

And  you,  Aglavaine,  does  he  not  love  you 
any  more? 

AGLAVAINE 

He  loves  me  less  than  he  loves  you,  Sely- 
sette.  .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        59 

SELYSETTE 

Oh !  my  poor  Aglavaine !  .  .  .  But  it  is 
impossible.  .  .  .  Why  should  he 
love  you  less?  Tell  me  what  to  do. 
.  .  .  Shall  I  stay  with  you?  .  .  . 
I  will  tell  him.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

No,  no  .  .  .  go  to  him,  Selysette  .  .  . 
never  shall  I  be  happier  than  I  am  to- 
night.   .    .    . 

{They  kiss  each  other  silently 
and  go  out  by  different 
doors.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       61 


ACT  THIRD 

Scene  I. — In  the  Park 

(Enter  Meleander  and  Selysette) 

SELYSETTE 

Forgive  me,  Meleander — you  would  rather 
be  alone,  I  know.  I  am  always  a 
cause  of  sorrow  to  you ;  but  I  will  only 
stay  a  moment.  ...  I  have  just 
come  from  Aglavaine's  room — she  is 
already  asleep;  I  kissed  her  and  she 
awoke  not,  though  the  stars  were  shin- 
ing on  her  bed.  ...  I  shall  not 
keep  you  long;  and  then  we  will  go 
and  wake  her,  for  she  is  sobbing  in  her 
sleep.  ...  I  was  afraid  to  wake 
her  by  myself — but  there  is  something 
I  want  to  ask  you  .  .  .  so  far,  I  do 
not  know  whether  I  am  right  or 
wrong — or  whether  it  be  good  or  bad. 


62       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

...    I  cannot  ask  Aglavaine,  and 
you  will  forgive  me  if  I  am  mistaken. 

MELEANDER 

What  is  it,  Selysette? — Come  here,  and  sit 
by  me.  I  will  play  with  your  hair 
while  you  talk ;  and  not  seeing  me,  you 
will  be  able  to  speak  out  more  bravely. 
...  I  believe  there  is  something 
that  presses  heavily  on  your 
heart.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Not  on  my  heart,  Meleander  .  .  .  but 
on  me  ...  I  know  not  where 
...  on  my  soul,  perhaps  ...  it 
is  something  that  weighs  me  down  and 
makes  me  understand — what?  .  .  . 
I  know  nothing  of  it  yet,  but  I  am  hap- 
pier than  when  my  soul  was  free.  .  .  . 

MELEANDER 

.  .  .  There  are  times  when  the  poor 
heart  is  almost  overwhelmed,  and  the 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       63 

soul  still  deems  itself  happy.  .  .  . 
But  enough  of  this;  tell  me  first  of  all 
what  it  is  that  distresses  you  to- 
night.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Aglavaine  is  going.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Who? — Aglavaine?  Did  she  say  so  to 
you? 

SELYSETTE 

Yes.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

When  ?   .    .    .   And  why  is  she  going  ? 

SELYSETTE 

She  did  not  say  .  .  .  but  she  will  cer- 
tainly go;  for  now  she  thinks  it  is 
right,  and  that  it  should  be  done  .  .  . 
and  I  am  asking  myself  whether  it 
would  not  be  better  that  I  should  go 
instead.   .    .    . 


64        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

MELEANDER 

Who? — You,  Selysette? — but  what  can 
have  happened?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Nothing  has  happened,  Meleander;  and  I 
beseech  you,  say  not  a  word  of  this  to 
Aglavaine — you  would  only  call  forth 
her  tears,  though  there  be  no  cause  for 
them.  .  .  .  But,  you  see,  Melean- 
der, I  have  been  thinking  these  things 
over,  too,  while  you  and  she  have  been 
together  and  I  sat  there  by  the  side 
of  our  grandmother  .  .  .  and  when 
you  two  came  back,  you  were  always 
so  happy,  so  united,  that  every  one 
was  compelled  to  be  silent,  as  you 
drew  near.  I  have  often  said  to  my- 
self that  I  am  only  a  poor  little  crea- 
ture who  could  never  follow  in  your 
footsteps;  but  you  have  both  been  so 
good  to  me  that  I  did  not  realise  this 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       65 

as  soon  as  I  should,  and  you  have  of- 
ten wanted  me  to  go  with  you,  because 
I  was  sad.  And  when  I  was  there, 
each  of  you  seemed  very  lighthearted, 
but  there  was  not  the  same  happiness 
in  your  souls,  and  I  was  between  you 
like  a  stranger  shivering  with  cold. 
And  yet  it  was  not  your  fault,  nor  was 
it  my  fault  either.  I  know  full  well 
that  I  cannot  understand ;  but  I  know 
also  that  this  is  a  thing  that  has  to  be 
understood.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

My  dear,  dear  and  good  Selysette  .  .  . 
what  is  it  that  you  think  you  do  not 
understand? — Do  you  imagine  that 
we  understand  something  that  you  do 
not  ?  .  .  .  It  is  always  the  soul  that 
knows  how  to  display  itself  that  at- 
tracts us,  but  the  one  that  hides  is  no 
less  beautiful;   nay,  it  may  well  be 


66        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

more  beautiful,  by  dint  of  its  very  un- 
consciousness.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no;  though  I  tried  my  hardest,  there 
would  always  be  a  difference,  Melean- 
der;  and  whenever  something  I  do 
pleases  you,  it  is  only  because  I  have 
been  trying  to  imitate  Aglavaine.  .  .  . 

MELEANDER 

Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Oh,  Meleander,  I  did  not  say  that  to  re- 
proach you  .  .  .  did  you  think  it 
was  meant  as  a  reproach?  I  am  no 
longer  as  I  used  to  be,  and  I  shall 
never  reproach  any  one  again.  Even 
I  myself  cannot  tell  why  I  have 
changed  like  this,  and  if  any  one  had 
told  me,  a  little  time  ago,  that  the  sad- 
ness would  bring  happiness  with  it, 
and  that  I  should  one  day  press  my 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       67 

lips  on  the  lips  of  the  woman  you  were 
to  love — if  any  one  had  told  me  this, 
I  should  never  have  believed  it;  and 
yet  it  has  all  come  to  pass  and  I  can- 
not help  it.  .  .  .  And  though  you 
tell  me  that  you  love  me,  thinking  thus 
to  drive  away  my  sadness,  you  can 
never  say  to  me  the  things  you  say  to 
Aglavaine.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Perhaps  I  could  not  say  the  same  things, 
Selysette.  The  things  that  we  really 
wish  to  say  can  never  be  put  into 
words,  and  it  may  be  that  when  we 
wish  to  speak  very  earnestly  to  one  we 
love,  we  are  but  replying  to  questions 
that  the  ears  cannot  hear.  And  never 
do  two  different  souls  ask  the  same 
questions.  And  therefore,  though  we 
know  it  not,  are  our  words  never  the 
same.  .  .  .  But  the  questions  that 
your  candid  soul  puts  to  me,  my  poor 


68        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

Selysette,  are  as  beautiful  as  the  ques- 
tions of  Aglavaine's  soul.  .  .  . 
They  come  from  another  region,  that 
is  all.  So  let  that  not  sadden  you, 
Selysette.  .  .  .  Come,  give  me  your 
lips.  ...  I  kiss  you  on  your  soul 
to-night,  Selysette.  ...  Come, 
mid-night  is  striking.  .  .  .  Let  us 
go  and  see  whether  Aglavaine  be  still 
sobbing  in  her  sleep.    .    .    . 

(They  go  out  with  their  arms 
about  each  other.) 

Scene  II. — A  room  in  the  castle 
(Enter  Aglavaine  and  Meleander) 

AGLAVAINE 

Do  you  hear  that  door  close? 

MELEANDER 

Yes. 

AGLAVAINE 

It  is  Selysette.   .    .    .   She  heard  us  coming 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       69 

and    wished    to    leave   us    alone   to- 
gether.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

She  said  to  me  that  she  would  be  going  to 
her  tower  this  morning;  they  have  told 
her  of  a  great  strange  bird.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  am  certain  she  must  have  been  here;  the 
whole  room  seems  to  be  awaiting  her 
return.  .  .  .  Look  at  the  little 
work-things  she  has  left  by  the  win- 
dow .  .  .  the  skeins  of  silk,  the 
jewels,  the  gold  and  silver 
threads.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

And  here  is  her  ring  with  our  names  in- 
scribed on  it.  .  .  .  And  there  are 
violets — and  here  is  her  handkerchief. 
.  .  .  {He  takes  the  handkerchief 
and  trembles  as  he  touches  it.) 
Ah!   .    .    . 


jo       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

What  is  it?   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

{hands  her  the  handkerchief) 
Here.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
Ah!    .     .     . 

MELEANDER 

It  is  still  warm  with  her  tears.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  see,  Meleander  ...  as  she  will  not 
speak,  here  are  these  smallest  things  of 
all  that  speak  for  her,  and  tell  me  it 
is  time.  .  .  .  (She  takes  the  hand- 
kerchief.) Give  it  to  me,  Meleander. 
.  .  .  Poor  little  witness  of  all  that 
is  hidden  from  us,  not  to  understand 
thee  one  must  be  dead  indeed.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

(He  tries  to  kiss  her.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        71 

AGLAVAINE 

Do  not  kiss  me.  .  .  .  Love  her  well, 
Meleander.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

I  do  not  know  what  to  believe,  Aglavaine. 
.  .  .  There  are  times  when  I  seem 
to  love  her  almost  as  much  as  I  love 
you,  and  times  when  I  love  her  more 
than  you,  because  she  is  further  from 
me,  or  that  I  understand  her  less. 
..  .  .  And  then,  when  I  see  you 
again,  she  disappears,  I  no  longer  am 
conscious  of  her.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
I  know  that  you  love  her,  Meleander,  and 
therefore  I  must  go.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

But  it  is  only  in  you  that  I  can  love  her,  Ag- 
lavaine, and  when  you  are  far  away,  I 
shall  love  her  no  longer. 


jz        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

I  know  that  you  love  her,  Meleander,  and 
so  well  do  I  know  it  that  I  have  more 
than  once  envied  the  poor  child  the 
love  that  you  gave  her.  .  .  .  Ah! 
do  not  think  I  am  perfect  I  ...  If 
Selysette  is  no  longer  as  she  seemed,  I 
too  have  changed  since  I  have  lived 
among  you.  When  I  came  I  was  wiser 
than  one  had  need  to  be.  I  told  my- 
self that  beauty  could  not  be  blamed 
for  the  tears  it  caused  to  flow,  and  I 
believed  the  goodness  vain  that  had 
not  wisdom  for  its  guide.  But  now  I 
realise  that  true  goodness  is  human 
and  foolish,  and  stands  in  no  need  of 
wisdom.  ...  I  thought  myself  the 
most  beautiful  of  women;  I  have 
learned  that  the  feeblest  of  creatures 
are  as  beautiful  as  I,  and  they  know 
not  of  their  beauty.  .  .  .  When  I 
look  at  Selysette,  I  ask  myself  whether 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        73 

the  timid  efforts  of  her  tender  soul  be 
not  greater,  and  a  thousand  times 
purer,  than  anything  I  can  do.  There 
is  something  in  my  heart  whispers  me 
that  she  is  unspeakably  beautiful.  She 
has  only  to  stretch  out  her  hands,  and 
they  come  back  laden  with  her  heart's 
treasures,  and  she  offers  the  priceless 
gems  as  tremblingly  as  might  a  little 
maid  who  was  blind,  and  knew  not 
that  her  two  hands  were  full  of  dia- 
monds and  pearls.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

It  is  strange,  Aglavaine.  .  .  .  When  you 
speak  to  me  of  her  I  admire  you  and 
you  only,  and  love  you  more  and  more. 
.  .  .  You  praise  her,  but  the  praise 
falls  back  on  you,  and  nothing  in  this 
world  can  make  it  otherwise.  My 
love  for  her  can  never  approach  my 
love  for  you,  even  though  a  God  so 
willed  it.   .    .    . 


74        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 
When  I  came  here,  I  believed  that  all 
things  were  possible,  and  that  no  one 
need  suffer.  .  .  .  But  now  I  see 
that  life  refuses  to  conform  to  our 
plans,  be  they  never  so  beautiful.  .  .  . 
And  I  feel  too  that  were  I  to  linger  by 
your  side  and  cause  others  to  suffer,  I 
should  no  longer  be  what  you  are,  nor 
would  you  be  what  I  am,  and  our  love 
would  no  longer  be  the  same  as  our 
love  of  to-day.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

It  may  be  so,  Aglavaine.  .  .  .  But,  for 
all  that,  should  we  not  be  in  the 
right?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Ah,  Meleander,  it  matters  so  little  whether 
one  be  right  or  not !  Better,  I  think, 
be  wrong  all  one's  life  than  bring  tears 
to  the  eyes  of  those  who  are  not  in  the 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       j$ 

right  I  ...  I  too  know  all  that 
might  be  said;  but  why  say  it,  seeing 
that  we  know  full  well  that  it  can  no- 
wise alter  the  deeper  truth  that  will 
have  none  of  our  most  beautiful 
words.  .  .  .  It  is  this  we  must  lis- 
ten to,  this  truth  that  disdains  fair 
speeches!  Notwithstanding  all  that 
we  say  and  do,  it  is  the  simplicity  of 
things  that  directs  our  life;  and  to 
struggle  against  that  which  is  simple 
is  only  to  court  failure.  .  .  .  Why 
were  we  made  to  meet,  you  and  I, 
when  it  was  too  late?  Who  knows? 
Who  would  dare  to  say  that  destiny 
and  Providence  are  not  one?   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 
{clasping  her  in  his  arms) 
I  love  you,  Aglavaine;  and  it  is  the  best 
love    of    all    that    is    coming    upon 
us.   .    .    . 


78       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

Scene  III. — At  the  foot  of  a  tower 
(Enter  Aglavaine  and  Meleander) 

AGLAVAINE 

'Twas  not  a  moment  ago  that  I  saw  her. 
She  was  at  the  top  of  the  tower,  sur- 
rounded by  screaming  sea-gulls.  For 
the  last  two  or  three  days  she  has 
spent  most  of  her  time  up  there.  And 
I  know  not  what  strange  shadow  it 
throws  across  my  soul.  She  seems  to 
be  less  unhappy,  but  at  the  same  time 
more  troubled  in  her  mind,  and  it  is  as 
though  some  plan  were  being  pre- 
pared in  that  profound  little  heart  of 
hers.  .,    ,   * 

MELEANDER 

She  seems  to  be  smiling  at  her  former  life 
— at  the  Selysette  of  old.  .  .  . 
Have  you  not  noticed  that  there  is  al- 
ways a  song  on  her  lips?  ...  A 
mysterious  light  seems  to  shine  upon 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       79 

her  as  she  walks  before  us*  .  .  .  It 
would  be  better  not  to  speak  of  your 
departure  till  she  is  calmer;  better  to 
wait  till  all  that  is  now  transforming 
her  has  taken  deeper  root  in  her 
soul.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
No;  I  shall  tell  her  to-day.  .  .  .  And 
as  to  what  should  be  said  to  her,  I 
have  thought  that  over  too,  and  at 
first  I  imagined  it  would  be  well  to 
conceal  the  truth,  so  that  she  should 
suffer  less.  .  .  ,  Do  not  smile, 
Meleander.  .  .  ,  There  is  so  little 
of  the  ordinary  woman  in  me  that  you 
may  well  be  surprised  to  find  that  I 
am  like  other  women  in  this — that  in 
the  depths  of  my  heart  I,  too,  possess 
their  feeble,  tortuous  wisdom — and 
that  when  love  commands  it,  false- 
hood comes  to  me  as  readily  as  to  my 
sisters.   .    .    .   So  I  had  made  up  my 


80       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

mind  to  tell  her  that  I  no  longer  loved 
you,  that  I  had  deceived  myself,  that 
your  love  for  me  was  dead  too,  and 
countless  other  little  things  that  would 
have  lessened  me  in  her  eyes,  and  thus 
lessen  her  grief,  too.  But  in  truth, 
when  those  great  pure  eyes  of  hers 
confronted  me,  I  felt  that  it  was  not 
possible,  because  it  was  not  beautiful. 
.  .  .  Listen.  ...  I  hear  her; 
she  is  coming  down  the  tower-stairs, 
singing.  .  .  .  Leave  us,  Melean- 
der ;  I  must  speak  to  her  alone,  for  she 
says  things  to  me  that  she  cannot  yet 
say  to  you ;  and  besides,  it  is  only  when 
two  people  are  alone  together  that 
truth  descends  from  its  very  fairest 
heaven.   .    .    . 

(Meleander  goes.  A  silence; 
then  the  voice  of  Sely- 
sette is  heard  as  it  gradu- 
ally comes  nearer.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       81 

The  voice  of  Selysette 
When  forth  her  love  went 
(I  heard  the  door  close) 
When  forth  her  love  went, 
She  smiled.   .    .    . 

When  back  he  did  fare 
(I  heard  the  lamp  burn) 
When  back  he  did  fare 
Another  was  there.   .    .    . 

And  I  could  see  Death 
(I  heard  her  soul  moan) 
And  I  could  see  Death 
That  still  watches  her  breath.    .    .    . 
(Selysette  comes  in) 

AGLAVAINE 

Oh,  Selysette,  how  bright  your  eyes  are  this 
morning!    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  is  because  a  beautiful  thought  has  come 
to  me,  Aglavaine.    .    .    . 


80        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

mind  to  tell  her  that  I  no  longer  loved 
you,  that  I  had  deceived  myself,  that 
your  love  for  me  was  dead  too,  and 
countless  other  little  things  that  would 
have  lessened  me  in  her  eyes,  and  thus 
lessen  her  grief,  too.  But  in  truth, 
when  those  great  pure  eyes  of  hers 
confronted  me,  I  felt  that  it  was  not 
possible,  because  it  was  not  beautiful. 
.  .  .  Listen.  ...  I  hear  her; 
she  is  coming  down  the  tower-stairs, 
singing.  .  .  .  Leave  us,  Melean- 
der ;  I  must  speak  to  her  alone,  for  she 
says  things  to  me  that  she  cannot  yet 
say  to  you ;  and  besides,  it  is  only  when 
two  people  are  alone  together  that 
truth  descends  from  its  very  fairest 
heaven.   .    .    . 

(Meleander  goes.  A  silence; 
then  the  voice  of  Sely- 
sette is  heard  as  it  gradu- 
ally comes  nearer.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       81 

The  voice  of  Selysette 
When  forth  her  love  went 
(I  heard  the  door  close) 
When  forth  her  love  went, 
She  smiled.   .    .    . 

When  back  he  did  fare 
(I  heard  the  lamp  burn) 
When  back  he  did  fare 
Another  was  there.   .    .    . 

And  I  could  see  Death 
(I  heard  her  soul  moan) 
And  I  could  see  Death 
That  still  watches  her  breath.    .    .    . 
(Selysette  comes  in) 

AGLAVAINE 

Oh,  Selysette,  how  bright  your  eyes  are  this 
morning!    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  is  because  a  beautiful  thought  has  come 
to  me,  Aglavaine.    .    .    . 


82       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

Tell  it  to  me;  we  must  never  keep  back  a 
beautiful  thought,  for  all  the  world  is 
the  happier  for  it.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 
I  cannot  tell  it  to  you  yet.  .  .  .  Little 
Selysette  fyas  her  secret  too,  and  a  se- 
cret it  must  remain  I  .  .  .  But  what 
would  you  have  done  had  you  been 
Selysette — what  would  you  have  done 
if  another  Aglavaine,  even  more 
beautiful  than  you,  had  appeared  one 
day  and  thrown  her  arms  around 
Meleander? 

AGLAVAINE 
I  think  I  should  have  tried  to  be  happy — 
to  feel  that  more  light  had  flown  into 
the  house,  and  I  should  have  tried  to 
love  her  even  as  you  love  me,  Sely- 
sette.  .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        83 

SELYSETTE 

You  would  not  have  been  jealous? 

AGLAVAINE 

I  cannot  tell,  Selysette  .  .  .  in  the  depths 
of  my  heart,  perhaps  .  .  .  for  one 
moment  .  .  .  but  I  should  have 
recognised  that  it  was  unworthy,  and 
I  should  have  tried  to  be  happy.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

I  am  going  to  be  happy,  Aglavaine.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
Not  for  one  single  instant  shall  you  ever  be 
unhappy  again.    ..." 

SELYSETTE 

I  should  be  perfectly  happy  if  I  were  only 
sure  that  this  idea  of  mine  was 
good.   .    .    , 

AGLAVAINE 
So  there  is  something  you  mean  to  hide 
from  me,  Selysette  ?   .    .    , 


84        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  but  only  till  it  has  become  very  beauti- 
ful.  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

When  will  it  be  very  beautiful? 

SELYSETTE 

When  I  know  .  .  .  when  I  know. 
.  .  .  Little  Selysette  can  be  beauti- 
ful too  .  .  .  you  will  see,  you  will 
see.  .  .  .  Oh  you  will  love  me  much 
more,  both  of  you.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
Is  it  possible  to  love  you  more  than  we  do, 
Selysette?  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 
I  would  so  dearly  like  to  know  what  you 
would  do,  if  you  were  I  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Tell  me  then,  Selysette.   .    .    , 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        85 

SELYSETTE 

If  I  were  to  tell  you  it  would  no  longer  be 
the  same,  and  you  could  not  tell  me 
the  truth.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Do  I  not  speak  the  truth  ?  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  I  know ;  but  here  you  could  not.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  are  strange  to-day,  Selysette ;  take  care, 
for  it  may  be  that  you  are  wrong.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no ;  let  me  kiss  you,  Aglavaine  .  .  . 
every  kiss  will  whisper  to  me  that  I 
am  not  wrong.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

There  is  a  strange  brightness  in  your  eyes, 
my  little  Selysette  ...  as  though 
your  soul  were  leaping  within 
you.   .    .    , 


86        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

And  your  eyes  are  brighter  to-day,  too, 
though  you  try  to  hide  them.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  also  have  something  to  say  to  you,  Sely- 
sette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Oh  what  is  it,  Aglavaine?  .  ,  .  you  look 
as  though  you  were  afraid,  as  well  as 
I.  .  .  .  Can  it  be  the  same 
thing?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

What  thing,  Selysette  ?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Nothing,  nothing.  ...  I  was  merely 
.    .    .   tell  me  what  it  is,  quickly.  .  .  . 

AGLAVAINE 
I  am  afraid  it  may  distress  you,  Selysette, 
though  it  ought  to  bring  happiness  to 
you,   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette        87 

SELYSETTE 

I  shall  never  shed  another  tear,  Agla- 
vaine.  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
(seizing  her  arm) 
What  does  this  mean,  Selysette?  you  said 
that  so  strangely.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no  ...  I  shall  not  cry  any  more, 
that  is  all ;  is  that  not  as  it  should  be  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Let  me  look  into  your  eyes.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Look,  look  .  .  .  tell  me  what  you 
see.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

For  all  that  we  say  the  soul  shows  itself  in 
the  eyes,  it  seems  to  vanish  as  we  gaze 
into  them.  .  .  .  And  as  I  stand, 
with  the  fears  I  dare  not  speak  of  upon 


88        Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

me,  before  the  limpid  waters  of  your 
eyes,  it  is  they  that  seem  to  question 
me,  and  to  murmur  timidly:  "What 
dost  thou  read?"  instead  of  answering 
the  question  I  cannot  frame.   .    .    . 

(A  silence.) 

SELYSETTE 

Aglavaine?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Selysette?  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

What  was  it  you  were  going  to  tell 
me?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Come  to  me,  little  Selysette  I  Alas!  but  a 
little  more  and  I  had  taken  from  you 
all  you  had  in  the  world.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

You  are  sad,  Aglavaine?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Let  us  sit  here,  at  the  threshold  of  your 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       89 

tower,  and  let  your  lips  be  close  to 
mine,  as  on  that  evening  when  we 
spoke  to  each  other  for  the  first  time 
...  do  you  remember  that  evening 
by  the  well  ?  More  than  a  month  ago, 
my  poor  Selysette;  many  things  have 
died  since  then,  many  sprung  to  life, 
and  a  little  more  light  has  come  unto 
the  soul.  .  .  .  Not  many  more  mo- 
ments such  as  this  will  be  vouchsafed 
to  us,  for  to-morrow  I  wend  my  way 
from  amongst  you,  and  everything 
that  we  do  for  the  last  time  of  all 
seems  so  grave  and  solemn  to  these 
poor  hearts  of  ours.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

You  mean  to  go  to-morrow  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes,  to-morrow,  Selysette:  it  was  that  I 
wanted  to  tell  you.  At  first  I  thought 
it  would  be  best  to  keep  back  the  truth, 


90       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

so  that  the  sorrow  should  not  come 
upon  you  all  at  once.  .  .  .  But 
when  I  thought  of  you,  I  felt  at  once 
that  it  could  not  be.  .  .  .  And 
therefore  I  have  come  to  tell  you  that 
to-morrow  I  shall  go  from  here  in  or- 
der that  you  may  be  happy,  and  I  tell 
it  you  in  all  simplicity,  content  that 
you  should  know  how  my  departure 
saddens  me,  content  even  that  you 
should  share  in  the  sacrifice;  for  we  are 
all  three  making  this  sacrifice,  and 
making  it  for  something  that,  name- 
less though  it  be,  is  yet  far  stronger 
than  we.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Do  not  go  to-morrow,  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Why  not  to-morrow,  since  go  I  must  ?  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

I  ask  you  not  to  go  till  I  have  told  what 
I  have  to  tell.    .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       91 

AGLAVAINE 

Will  you  tell  me  soon  ? 

SELYSETTE 
Yes,  for  now  I  am  sure.    .    .    .  And  does 
Meleander  know  what  you  have  just 
now  said  to  me? 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes. 

SELYSETTE 

I  am  no  longer  sad,  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

What  would  you  have  done,  Selysette,  if  I 
had  gone  away  without  telling  you  ? 

SELYSETTE 

I  should  have  followed  and  brought  you 
back,  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

And  if  you  had  not  found  me? 

SELYSETTE 

I    should    have    spent    my    life    seeking 
you.    .    .    . 


92       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

My  fear  is  lest  you  should  go  before  I  do, 
Selysette — I  am  wondering  whether 
that  can  be  the  idea  you  spoke  of.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  for  there  would  be  sorrow  in  that,  and 
my  idea  now  is  full  of  gladness.  .  .  . 
I  had  thought,  I  too,  of  going  away 
without  saying  a  word,  but  now  .  .  . 

AGLAVAINE 

Now  you  will  not  go  ? 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no,  Algavaine  mine;  I  shall  not  leave 
the  castle.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  promise  me  that,  from  the  depths  of 
your  soul ? 

SELYSETTE 

From  the  depths  of  my  soul,  and  by  my 
eternal  happiness,  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       93 

AGLAVAINE 
It  had  been  better,   perhaps,  that  I  had 
never  come.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

In  that  case  I  had  never  been  happy  or  un- 
happy, for  I  was  nothing.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Perhaps  it  is  not  well  to  awaken  those  who 
slumber,  above  all  when  their  sleep  is 
innocent  and  sweet.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Surely  it  must  be  well,  Aglavaine,  since  they 
never  wish  to  slumber  again.  .  .  . 
When  I  think  of  the  time  when  my 
eyes  were  sealed,  I  would  fain  hide 
myself  for  shame.  .  .  .  When  I 
used  to  kiss  Meleander  I  was  only  a 
little  blind  girl  who  did  not  know 
.  .  .  but  was  it  altogether  my  fault 
that  I  counted  for  so  little?  .  .  . 
Whereas  now   ...    I  looked  at  him 


94       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

to-night  as  he  lay  asleep  .  .  .  and 
then  ...  I  can  tell  you,  Agla- 
vaine?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
(embracing  her) 
Selysette,  my  little  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

And  then  I  kissed  him,  but  he  did  not 
awake.  .  .  .  And  I  could  see  the 
stars  in  the  blue  of  the  windows;  and 
I  felt  as  though  all  those  stars  had 
come  to  me  to  build  a  heaven  in  my 
soul.  .  .  .  Oh  my  poor  Aglavaine, 
you  will  never  know — for  you  always 
knew.  .  .  .  But  to  be  able  to  say, 
"I  love  you,"  to  be  able  to  say  it  with 
one's  eyes  open,  to  the  man  one  loves  I 
...  I  understand  now  ...  I 
know  not  why  I  am  yearning  all  the 
time  to  go  away  or  to  die.  ...  I 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       95 

am  happy,  and  fain  would  I  die,  so  as 
to  be  happier  still.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
It  is  dangerous  to  think  of  death  at  mo- 
ments of  too  much  happiness.  .  .  . 
I  will  make  a  confession  to  you. 
.  .  .  For  one  second  the  fear  rushed 
across  me  that  the  idea  you  spoke  of 
before   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yes.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

That  that  might  have  been  the  idea.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

You  need  not  be  afraid,  Aglavaine,  such  an 
idea  as  that  could  come  only  to  quite 
a  little  girl.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes,  it  would  be  the  idea  of  a  blind  little 
heart,  to  whom  death  might  seem  the 
one  proof  of  love.    .    .    .   Whereas, 


9  6       Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

on  the  contrary,  those  who  love  must 
live;  and  the  more  we  love,  the  more 
must  we  wish  to  live.  .  .  .  But 
apart  from  that,  I  knew  that  your  love 
for  us  was  far  above  that  kind  of  love. 
.  .  .  And  surely  it  is  only  some  one 
who  longs  to  plunge  two  fellow-crea- 
tures into  despair,  who  could  devise 
anything  so  terribly  cruel  as  to  place  an 
innocent  death  between  them.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Shall  I  make  a  confession  too,  Agla- 
vaine?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Tell  me  everything,  even  as  I  have  told  you 
everything,  my  little  Selysette.  It  is 
sweet  to  feel  that  there  is  nothing  be- 
tween us,  not  even  a  flower  wherein 
could  hide  a  thought  not  shared  by 
both.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  had  thought  of  it  for  an  instant.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       97 

AGLAVAINE 

Of  death? 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  long  ago.  .  .  .  But  I  at  once  told 
myself  all  you  have  just  told  me ;  and 
then  something  else  came  to  me.  .  .  . 

AGLAVAINE 

And  that  is? 

SELYSETTE 

Oh  something  quite  different,  and  it  is  on 
the  side  of  life.  .  .  .  But  the  time 
for  telling  is  not  yet.  .  .  .  You 
shall  see.  ...  I  kiss  you,  Agla- 
vaine. ...  I  feel  I  know  not  what 
.  .  .  it  is  as  though  my  soul — was 
it  you  who  said  it?  .  .  .as  though 
my  soul  were  leaping  within  me.  .  .  . 
And  now  I  know  at  last  what  you 
would  do  if  you  were  I.   .    .    . 

{They  go  out  with  their  arms 
about  each  other.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette       99 

ACT  FOUR 

Scene  I. — A  terrace  overlooking  the  sea 

(Aglavaine  and  Selysette  enter  and 

meet  each  other.) 

AGLAVAINE 

The  sun  is  rising  over  the  sea,  Selysette; 
and  the  waves  are  full  of  joy  in  their 
tranquillity.  The  fragrance  and 
limpid  silence  of  the  dawn  make  one 
feel  as  though  one  were  alone  in  the 
world,  and  there  is  something  of  the 
dawn  in  every  word  one  says ;  is  it  not 
so?  The  day  will  be  very  beautiful. 
Shall  it  be  the  day  of  my  departure? 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no ;  you  shall  not  go.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
I  came  to  meet  you  because  I  saw  you  just 
now  from  the  window  of  my  room.    I 
was      frightened,      Selysette.   .    .    . 


ioo     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

You  were  leaning  over,  nearly  all  your 
body  was  leaning  over  the  crumbling 
old  wall  at  the  top  of  the  tower.  I 
imagined  for  a  moment  that  the  stones 
were  giving  way.  I  turned  pale,  pale 
— there  was  a  chill  at  my  heart  that  I 
had  never  known  before.  I  felt  my 
life  trembling  on  my  lips.  ...  I 
opened  the  window  and  screamed  to 
warn  you ;  but  you  did  not  understand. 
.  .  .  Destiny  is  capricious — you  do 
wrong  to  tempt  it  thus.  What  were 
you  doing  up  there  ?  This  is  the  third 
time  I  have  seen  you  on  the  tower. 
.  .  .  Your  hands  seemed  to  be  pull- 
ing at  the  stones.  .  .  .  What  were 
you  doing,  Selysette?  You  seemed  to 
be  seeking  something  in  space.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  I  was  seeking  something.  .  .  . 
Have  they  not  told  you?  .  .  .  But 
first  of  all  do  not  be  frightened  about 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      101 

me,  there  is  no  cause.  .  .  .  My  old 
tower  is  stronger  than  they  think;  it 
will  outlive  us  all.  Why  speak  ill  of 
it?  It  has  done  no  one  any  harm,  so 
far;  and  the  stones  are  fast;  I  know 
that  better  than  any  one.  .  .  .  But 
have  you  not  noticed?  Here  is  some- 
thing taking  place  so  close  to  you,  and 
you  know  nothing  of  it!  .  .  .  Five 
or  six  days  ago  a  strange  bird  came 
to  us,  and  it  flies  round  and  round  my 
tower,  and  never  seems  to  tire.  .  .  . 
Its  wings  are  green — a  strange,  pale 
green,  inconceivably  strange  and  pale. 
.  .  .  And  there  is  something  else 
that  is  inconceivable,  too;  it  seems  to 
grow  day  by  day.  .  .  .  None  have 
been  able  to  tell  me  from  what  coun- 
try it  has  come.  ...  I  think  it 
must  have  made  its  nest  in  a  crevice 
in  the  wall ;  it  was  there  that  you  saw 
me  bending  over.   .    .    . 


102     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

Is  that  the  key  of  the  tower,  that  great 
golden  key  with  which  you  are  play- 
ing?  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yes ;  you  remember  I  let  it  fall  the  day  you 
arrived.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 
Will  you  give  it  to  me?    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Give  it  to  you?   .    .    .    Why?   .    .    . 
AGLAVAINE 

I  would  like  to  keep  it  by  me  till  I  go.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

But  why,  Aglavaine? 

AGLAVAINE 

I  scarcely  know  .  .  .  Wait  till  I  am  far 
away  before  you  go  up  there  again, 
Selysette,  and  leave  the  bird  with  the 
green  wings  alone.   .    .    .   Last  night 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      103 

I  dreamed,  and  the  bird  appeared  in 
my  dream.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Here  is  the  key,  Aglavaine.  ...  I  don't 
mind  giving  it  to  you.  .  .  .  It  is 
heavy.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes,  it  is  very  heavy. 

SELYSETTE 

Kiss  me,  Aglavaine.  .  .  .  Have  I  made 
you  unhappy?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  have  never  yet  made  any  one  unhappy. 
.  .  .  Your  eyes  are  filled  with 
tears.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  was  looking  at  the  sun,  as  I  kissed  you. 
.  .  .  Kiss  me  again.  ...  I  was 
going  to  Meleander,  he  told  me  he 
would  be  up  early.  .  .  .  Good-bye, 
Aglavaine.    .    .    . 


104     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

(slowly) 
Good-bye,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

(Selysette  goes.  Aglavaine 
waits  till  she  is  far  away, 
then,  going  to  the  end  of 
the  terrace,  she  looks  for  an 
instant  at  the  golden  key 
and,  with  a  sudden  move- 
ment, flings  it  far  away  into 
the  sea.  Then  she  goes 
too.) 

Scene  II. — A  room  in  the  castle 
(Meligrane  is  asleep  at  the  hack.    Enter 
Selysette,  holding  little  Yssaline 
by  the  hand.) 

SELYSETTE 

Let  us  kiss  grandam  first  of  all;  for  who 
will  kiss  her  when  we  are  gone  ?  And 
surely  she  needs  our  kisses  no  less  than 
the  others.    .    .    .   But  say  nothing  to 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      105 

her.  .  .  .  Aglavaine  took  away  the 
key  of  my  tower,  because  she  was 
afraid.  But  I  have  found  the  other 
key — the  one  we  thought  was  lost. 
And  so  we  can  go  up  without  any  one 
knowing,  and  I  will  capture  the  green 
bird.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Will  you  give  it  to  me  at  once  ? 

SELYSETTE 

I  will  give  it  to  you  if  you  say  nothing.  But 
be  careful,  I  am  going  to  awaken 
grandam.  .  .  .  Do  I  look  unhappy, 
Yssaline?  .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Is  there  anything  I  can  say  that  would  make 
you  happy,  little  sister? 

SELYSETTE 
You     must    tell     me    the    truth.    .    .    . 
Grandam  must  not  imagine  that  I  am 
unhappy.    You  see,  often  when  one  is 


106     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

very  happy  people  make  mistakes  and 
believe  one  has  been  crying.  .  .  . 
You  cannot  see  that  I  have  been  cry- 
ing? 

YSSALINE 

Let  me  look  at  you  carefully,   little  sis- 
ter.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Can  you  see  anything  ? 

YSSALINE 

You  must  come  nearer  to  me,  little  sis- 
ter.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  will  take  you  in  my  arms  and  kiss  you. 
.    .    .   You  see  nothing?   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

One  never  quite  knows  when  you  are  crying, 
little  sister;  you  do  it  so  softly.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

But  I  have  not  been  crying  at  all.   .    .    . 
And  remember,  if  they  ask  you  to-day, 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      107 

when  you  are  alone,  "What  did  she 
say,  what  did  she  do,  was  she  pale,  or 
sad?"  you  must  not  answer  all  at 
once  if  you  see  that  they  are  fright- 
ened, or  if  those  about  you  are  too 
pale.  .  .  .  But  you  must  tell  them 
that  I  seemed  to  be  happy,  and  indeed 
every  one  can  see  that  I  do  nothing  but 
smile,  that  I  am  smiling  all  the  time; 
and  we  must  always  tell  the  truth. 
Now,  be  careful,  for  I  am  going  to 
grandam.  .  .  .  Ah  I  how  forsaken 
she  looks!  .  .  .  (She  imprints  a 
long  kiss  upon  Meligrane' s  lips.) 
Grandam.  .  .  .  (Meligrane  does 
not  awake.)  It  is  I,  grandam.  .  .  . 
How  heavily  she  sleeps.  .  .  . 
Grandam,  I  am  come  to  bid  you 
good-bye. 

meligrane 
(awaking) 
Ah !  it  is  you,  Selysette  ?  .    .    . 


108      Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  grandam,  Yssaline  and  I  have  come 
to  kiss  you,  for  we  are  going  for  a 
walk  to-day.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Whither  are  you  going? 

SELYSETTE 

I  do  not  know  yet,  but  we  mean  to  go  a  lit- 
tle further  than  usual.  .  .  .  We 
shall  not  be  back  before  evening. 
Have  you  all  you  need,  grandam? 
Aglavaine  will  come  and  take  care  of 
you  in  my  stead.  Shall  I  arrange  the 
cushions  before  I  go?  I  am  the  only 
one  who  knows  how  to  lift  you  with- 
out hurting  you.  But  Aglavaine  will 
learn.  She  is  so  good  that  she  will 
know  at  once  if  you  will  only  let  her. 
.    .    .   Shall  I  call  her?   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

No,  no ;  I  shall  sleep  till  you  return.    .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      109 

SELYSETTE 

Good-bye,  grandam,  good-bye.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Good-bye,  Selysette;  come  back  before  the 
night.   .    .    . 

(Selysette  goes  quickly,  hold- 
ing little  Yssaline  by  the 
hand.) 
Scene  III. — A  corridor  in  the  castle 
(Meleander  meets  Selysette,  who  is 
holding  little  Yssaline  by  the  hand.) 

MELEANDER 

Where  are  you  going  so  hurriedly,  Sely- 
sette ? 

SELYSETTE 

Nowhere,      Meleander We      are 

seeking  shelter  from  the  sun.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

In  very  truth  this  is  a  day  when  the  stones 
seem  to  melt  in  the  walls,  and  the  sea 
to  have  turned  into  a  fiery  lake.  The 
eternal  freshness  of  the  forest  is  noth- 


no     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

ing  but  the  heated  breath  of  a  funeral 
pile;  and  the  sun  looks  like  a  raging 
lion  about  to  swallow  up  the  sky. 
.  .  .  Kiss  me,  Selysette,  for  if  there 
linger  yet  any  fragrance  of  the  dawn 
it  is  surely  to  be  found  on  your 
lips.    :    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No;  I  have  no  time;  they  are  waiting  for 
me — you  shall  kiss  me  this  even- 
ing.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

What  is  the  matter,  Selysette  ? 

SELYSETTE 

Ah  I  It  is  such  a  little  thing  and  over  so 
soon!    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

What  do  you  say? 

SELYSETTE 

Nothing,  nothing.  .  .  .  Kiss  me 
quickly.    .    .    . 

(She  kisses  him  violently.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      1 1 1 

MELEANDER 

Ah!   ...   my  lip  is  bleeding.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

What? 

MELEANDER 
A  drop  of  blood.    .    .    .   Those  beautiful 
little  teeth  of  yours  have  wounded 
me,  Selysette.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Oh,  I  am  a  little  ...  a  little  wolf. 
.  .  .  Have  I  hurt  you,  Melean- 
der?   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

It  is  nothing.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Oh,  I  am  a  little  ...  a  little  wolf. 
.    .    .   What  time  is  it? 

MELEANDER 

Close  on  noon. 

SELYSETTE 

Noon?    Oh,  I  must  hurry   .    .    .   they  are 


1 1 2     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

waiting,      waiting.   .    .    .   Good-bye, 
my  Meleander. 

MELEANDER 

Selysette,  Selysette,  where  are  you  going? 

SELYSETTE 

(singing  as  she  hastens  away  with  little  Ys- 
saline) 

When  forth  her  love  went 
(I  heard  the  door  close) 

When  forth  her  love  went 
She  smiled.   .    .    . 
L(  Meleander    stands    looking 
after  her:  then  goes  out.)t 

Scene  IV. — 'At  the  top  of  the  tower 
(Enter  Selysette  and  little  Yssaline) 

SELYSETTE 

Here  we  are,  Yssaline,  in  the  turret  of  the 
tower,  and  now  we  must  know  what 
we  have  to  do.  .  .  .  Oh  the  bright- 
ness there  is  this  morning  over  earth 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      113 

and  sea  and  sky !  Why  is  this  day  so 
much  more  beautiful  than  other 
days?   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Where  is  the  green  bird? 

SELYSETTE 

He  is  there,  but  we  cannot  see  him  yet. 
...  In  a  minute  or  two  we  will 
lean  over  the  wall,  but  let  us  look 
around  us  first.  One  can  see  the  cas- 
tle and  the  courtyards,  the  woods  and 
the  gardens.  All  the  flowers  have 
opened  on  the  banks.  .  .  .  How 
green  the  grass  is  this  morning !  .  .  . 
I  cannot  see  Aglavaine.  .  .  .  Oh 
look,  there  is  Meleander.  .  .  .  He 
is  waiting  for  her.  .  .  .  Bend 
down,  we  must  hide;  he  must  not 
know  we  are  here.  He  is  close  to  the 
well ;  it  was  there  that  I  awakened  Ag- 
lavaine.  .    .    . 


1 1 4     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

YSSALINE 
Look,  little  sister,  look;  come  here.   .    .    . 
I  can  see  the  gardener  planting  flowers 
round  the  house.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

You  will  see  them  grow  and  you  will  see 
them  open,  Yssaline,  and  you  will 
pluck  them  for  me.  .  .  .  Come, 
come,  it  is  more  than  I  can  bear.  .  .  . 
Let  us  look  from  here;  here  there  is 
only  the  sea,  which  is  far  away  .  .  . 
(They  go  to  the  other  side  of  the 
tower.)  How  beautiful  the  sea  is 
too!  ...  In  not  a  single  corner  is 
sorrow  to  be  found  to-day.  .  .  . 
The  sea  is  so  green,  so  deep,  so  beauti- 
ful, that  one's  courage  goes.  .  .  . 
And  whatever  may  happen,  Yssaline, 
it  will  go  on  smiling  just  the  same  un- 
til nightfall.  .  .  .  Look  at  the  lit- 
tle waves  on  the  beach.   ...   I  can- 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      1 1 5 

not,  I  tell  you,  I  cannot  1  .  .  .  The 
flowers  and  the  sea  will  not  let  me. 
...  I  shall  never  be  able  to  do  it 
in  the  daylight. 

YSSALINE 
Oh,  here  are  the  gulls,  little  sister,  the  gulls 
are  coming  I    Oh  how  many  there  are ! 
...   how  manyl     There  must  be 
two  thousand  I    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

They  have  all  flown  here  together  from  the 
far  end  of  the  sea.  .  .  .  They  look 
as  though  they  were  bringing  us 
news.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 
No,  no;  it  is  fish  they  are  bringing,  little 
sister.  .  .  .  And  their  young  ones 
are  screaming,  too,  from  their  holes 
in  the  wall.  .  .  .  Their  beaks  are 
bigger  than  they  are.  .  .  .  Look, 
look,  do  you  see  that  great  gull  with 


1 1 6     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

the  eel?  .  .  .  Don't  you  see? 
.  .  .  There,  there.  .  .  .  They 
have  eaten  it  already.  .  .  .  And 
the  others  are  over  there  too.  .  .  . 
The  big  ones  are  eating  nothing. 
.  .  .  There  again,  did  you  see? 
.  .  .  She  kept  nothing  for  herself. 
...   Is  she  the  mother,  little  sister  ? 

SELYSETTE 

What  did  I  say  to  grandam,  Yssaline? 

YSSALINE 

Why  are  you  crying,  little  sister? 

SELYSETTE 

I  am  not  crying,  Yssaline — I  am  thinking, 
thinking.  Did  I  kiss  her  before  I 
went  away?   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Yes,  you  kissed  her  as  you  said  good-bye. 

SELYSETTE 

How  often  did  I  kiss  her? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      1 1 7 

YSSALINE 

Once,  little  sister,  we  had  no  time.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  fear  I  was  not  gentle  enough.   .    .    . 
YSSALINE 

We  were  in  a  great  hurry,  little  sister.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no ;  it  must  not  be.  .  .  .  She  will  be 
quite  alone,  Yssaline,  and  this  will 
ever  linger  in  her  mind.  You  see,  if 
you  have  not  been  gentler  than  usual 
when  you  go  away,  they  believe  that 
you  no  longer  love  them.  .  .  . 
Whereas  it  is  the  contrary  they  should 
believe ;  it  is  just  when  our  love  is  too 
great  that  we  are  afraid  to  be  gentle. 
.  .  .  Though  perhaps  we  are 
wrong;  for  whatever  they  do,  and 
were  they  to  live  a  thousand  years,  it 


1 1 8     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

is  only  the  last  word  we  said  to  them 
that  they  can  remember.  ...  I  saw 
that  myself  when  my  mother  went. 
...  At  the  last  moment  of  all  she 
did  not  smile  at  me,  and  it  comes  back 
to  me  again  and  again  that  she  did 
not  smile.  .  .  .  And  the  rest  of  life 
seems  scarcely  to  count.  .  .  .  And 
besides,  what  did  I  say  of  Aglavaine  ? 
...  I  don't  remember.  I  must  see 
grandam  again.  .  .  ..  The  others, 
it  is  for  them;  they  must  not  know. 
.  .  .  But  she  is  quite  alone;  and  it 
is  not  for  her  sake  that  I  climb  into 
the  tower,  not  for  her  sake  that  I  shall 
go  down  .  .  .  you  must  see  that  it 
is  impossible.  .  .  .  Come,  come,  we 
will    go    and    kiss    her    very    ten- 


derly. 


(They  go  out.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      119 

Scene  V. — A  room  in  the  castle 
(Meligrane  is  asleep.     Selysette  and 
little  Yssaline  come  in.) 

SELYSETTE 

(waking  Meligrane) 
Grandam.    .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 
You  are  back  at  last,  Selysette.   ...    I 
I  have  long  been  waiting  for  you.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

Forgive  me,  grandam,  I  fear  I  was  not  as 
gentle  as  I  should  have  been  when  I 
bade  you  good-bye.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Oh  but  you  were,  Selysette,  you  were  very 
gentle.    What  is  the  matter?    There 
is  something  on  your  mind.    .    .    . 
SELYSETTE 

There  is  nothing  on  my  mind,  grandam.  It 
is  only  that  I  feel  I  must  tell  you  how 
I  love  you.   .    .    . 


i  20     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

MELIGRANE 

I  know  you  do,  Selysette.  You  have 
shown  me  your  love  again  and  again, 
and  I  never  have  doubted  it.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  grandam,  I  know  .  .  .  but  I  myself 
have  never  known  till  now.    .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Come  nearer  to  me,  my  child — you  know 
that  I  can  no  longer  embrace  those  I 
love,  now  that  these  poor  arms  of 
mine  have  ceased  to  do  my  bidding. 
.  .  .  Put  your  arms  round  me  again 
as  I  cannot  put  mine  around  you.  .  .  . 
You  seem  strange  to-day,  Selysette. 
And  so  it  is  only  now  that  you  know 
you  love  me? 

SELYSETTE 

Oh  no ;  I  knew  it,  I  knew  it,  but  sometimes 
one  knows  a  thing  so  long  without 
knowing.   .    .    .   And  then,  one  day, 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      121 

we  feel  we  have  not  been  kind  enough, 
that  we  might  have  done  more,  that 
we  have  not  loved  as  we  should  have 
loved.  And  we  want  to  begin  again 
before  it  be  too  late.  I  have  neither 
father  nor  mother,  grandam,  and  had 
you  not  been  there,  I  should  have  for- 
gotten what  a  mother  might  mean. 
.  .  .  But  you  never  forsook  little 
Selysette,  and  it  was  a  great  joy  to 
know  there  was  some  one  to  go  to 
when  I  was  unhappy.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

No,  no,  Selysette  mine,  it  was  you  who  did 
not  abandon  me.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no,  grandam.  ...  I  know  full  well 
that  it  is  you  who  stayed  on  for  my 
sake.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

You  are  strangely  serious  this  afternoon, 


122     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

Selysette,  and  for  all  that  you  do  not 
seem  sad.   .    .    . 


SELYSETTE 

I  have  always  been  very  happy,  grandam, 
and  now  I  know  the  meaning  of  hap- 
piness.  .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

You  do  not  mean  that  it  has  gone  from  you, 
Selysette  ? 

SELYSETTE 

Far  from  that,  I  believe  I  have  found  it, 
grandam.  .  .  .  And  tell  me,  have 
you  been  happy? 

MELIGRANE 

When,  Selysette? 

SELYSETTE 

In  the  time  that  has  gone,  grandam.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Of  what  time  do  you  speak,  my  child? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      123 

SELYSETTE 

The  time  when  life  was.    .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

There  have  come  to  me  days  of  sorrow 
even  as  they  come  to  all  that  live  on 
this  earth,  but  I  may  truly  claim  to 
have  been  happy,  since  you  have  never 
once  left  me.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

You  must  not  let  me  count  for  so  much  in 
your  happiness,  grandam.  ...  If 
you  were  to  lose  me  you  would  still 
have  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

I  have  never  lulled  her  to  sleep  on  my  knee, 
Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

But  still  you  must  love  her,  grandam.  .  .  . 

MELIGRANE 

You  love  her,  and  therefore  I  love  her,  my 
child.   .    .    . 


1 24     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

And  most  of  all  should  you  love  her  be- 
cause it  was  she  who  brought  happi- 
ness to  me.  .  .  .  She  is  so  beauti- 
ful, she  is  so  beautiful  that  ever  since 
my  heart  has  known  of  her,  I  have 
lived  by  her  side  with  my  eyes  full  of 
tears.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

How  your  hands  burn  to-day,  Sely- 
sette. ...   .    . 

SELYSETTE 

It  is  because  my  happiness  is  too 
great.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

I  love  you,  Selysette  mine.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Have  I  ever  been  the  cause  of  sorrow  to 
you,  grandam? 

MELIGRANE 

I  cannot  remember,  my  child.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      125 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  yes,  you  must  needs  remember  .  .  . 
for  we  bring  sorrow  to  all  those  we 
love.  .  .  .  But  tell  me,  I  beg  of 
you,  when  it  was  that  I  hurt  you  the 
most.   ... 

MELIGRANE 

It  was  only  when  you  cried  that  you  sad- 
dened me;  and  then  it  was  not  your 
fault.  ...  I  remember  nothing 
else.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  shall  never  cry  again.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Ah,  Selysette,  happiness  sways  to  and  fro 
like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock.  But 
we  do  well  to  keep  back  our  tears  as 
long  as  we  can.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

You  are  right,  grandam;  and  when  happi- 


126     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

ness  shall  have  returned  to  you — to 
them  and  to  you,  grandam,  get  them 
to  sit  beside  you  one  evening  and  tell 
them  the  story  of  a  poor  little 
girl.    .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

What  are  you  saying,  Selysette? 

SELYSETTE 
Nothing,  nothing.   ...   I  was  thinking 
of  the  days    when    I    was    a    little 
child.  .... 

MELIGRANE 

So  do  I  often  think  of  those  days,  Selysette. 
I  was  not  ill,  then,  and  I  was  able  to 
carry  you  in  my  arms  or  run  after  you. 
.  .  .  And  thus,  thanks  to  you,  I 
have  been  a  mother  a  second  time, 
long  after  my  beauty  had  left  me;  and 
some  day  you  will  know  that  women 
never  weary  of  motherhood,  that  they 
would  cherish  death  itself,  did  it  fall 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      127 

asleep  on  their  knee.  .  .  .  But  lit- 
tle by  little  all  passes  away,  Selysette, 
and  the  very  smallest  soon  cease  to  be 
small.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  know  it,  grandam,  and  sorrow  passes 
away,  too,  passes  away  and  disappears. 
.  .  .  But  beauty  remains  and  others 
are  happy.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Who  told  you  that,  my  child? 

SELYSETTE 

I  learned  it  from  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

How  your  eyes  sparkle  to-day,  Sely- 
sette.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

(stifling  a  sob) 
It    is    because    I    love    all    the    world, 
grandam.    .    .    . 


128     Aglavaine  and  Selysette  ' 

MELIGRANE 

I  believe  you  are  crying,  my  child?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Oh  no,  I  am  not  crying;  and  if  one  or  two 
tears  are  falling,  they  are  only  tears 
of  joy. .... 

MELIGRANE 

Put  your  arms  around  me,  Selysette — 
closer,  closer,  and  stay  with  me.  .  .  . 

YSSALINE 

Little  sister,  I  want  to  be  kissed  too.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

(Gently  moving  Yssaline  away) 
No,  no,  Yssaline,  she  shall  have  all  my 
kisses  to-day.  .  .  .  The  day  will 
soon  come  when  it  will  be  your  turn 
to  have  all  the  kisses.  .  .  .  Fare- 
well, grandam,  farewell.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 

Selysette !  .  .  .  what  is  the  matter  ?  .  .  . 
.    .    .   where  are  you  going?   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      129 

SELYSETTE 

Farewell,  grandam,  farewell.   .    .    . 

MELIGRANE 
Selysette,  stay  here.  ...  I  won't  have 
it.  .  .  .  You  shall  not  go.  .  .  . 
(She  struggles  in  vain  to  rise  and 
stretch  out  her  arms.)  I  cannot,  I 
cannot.  .  .  .  You  see  that  I  cannot, 
Selysette.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I,  too,  cannot,  grandam  .  .  .  farewell 
.  .  .  sleep  in  peace  to-night  and — 
do  not  dream  .  .  .  farewell,  fare- 
well.  .    .    . 

(She  goes  out  quickly  holding 
little  Yssaline  by  the 
hand.) 

MELIGRANE 

Selysette!   .    .    .   Selysette  I   .    .    . 

(She  is  heard  sobbing  softly  to 
herself  as  the  light  grows 
fainter  and  fainter.) 


i  30     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

Scene  VI. — A  Corridor  in  the  Castle 
{Enter  Selysette  holding  little  Yssaline 
by  the  hand.  She  sees  Aglavaine 
coming  to  meet  her,  and  hides  with 
little  Yssaline  behind  one  of  the  pil- 
lars which  support  the  roof.) 

AGLAVAINE 

{drawing  near) 
Is  it  you,  Selysette?    Why  are  you  hiding? 

SELYSETTE 

I  scarcely  know,  Aglavaine.  ...  I 
thought  you  would  like  to  be 
alone.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Where  were  you  going  to,  Selysette?.  .  . 
And  here  is  little  Yssaline  looking  at 
me  from  the  corners  of  her  eyes.  .  .  . 
Is  there  a  plot  between  you? 

SELYSETTE 

I  have  made  a  promise  that  I  must 
keep.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      131 

AGLAVAINE 

Whither  were  you  dragging  Selysette, 
Yssaline?  (Yssaline  does  not  an- 
swer.)   Won't  you  tell  me? 

SELYSETTE 

Oh,  she  knows  how  to  keep  a  secret  quite 
as  well  as  though  she  were  grown 
up.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

It  may  be  the  evening  light,  but  you  look 
very  pale,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  want  to  kiss  you,  Aglavaine.   .    .    . 

( They  exchange  a  long  kiss. ) 

AGLAVAINE 

Oh,  your  lips  are  soft  and  sweet  to-night, 
Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yours  too,  Aglavaine.  ...  I  am  very 
happy.  .  .  .  There  is  strength  on 
your  lips.   .    .    . 


132     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

A  light  shines  from  you  as  from  a 
lamp.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

You  have  not  seen  grandam? 

AGLAVAINE 

No.    Shall  I  go  to  her? 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no;  there  is  no  need;  she  is  asleep. 

.    .    .    You  were  looking  for  Mele- 

ander? 

AGLAVAINE 
Yes.    And  you,  Selysette? 

SELYSETTE 

When  you  see  him,  kiss  him  for  me.  .  .  . 
I  am  glad  to  think  that  it  is  you  who 
will  kiss  him  when  I  am  not  there. 
...  I  love  you  so  much,  so  much  1 
.  .  .  But  see  how  impatient  Ys- 
saline  is,  and  how  she  is  pulling  my 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      133 

hand.    .    .    .    Good-bye,      Aglavaine 
mine ;  you  will  see  me  soon.    .    .    . 

(She  goes  with  little  Yssaline, 
and  sings  as  she  moves 
along. ) 

When  back  he  did  fare 
(I  heard  the  lamp  burn) 
When  back  he  did  fare 
Another  was  there   .    .    . 
And  I  could  see.    .    .    .   Ah !  Ah !    .    .    . 
( The  song  ceases  suddenly  and 
Aglavaine  goes  out.) 

Scene  VII. — At  the  top  of  the  Tower 
(Enter  Selysette  and  little  Yssaline) 

SELYSETTE 

And  now  the  hour  has  come,  my  little  Ys- 
saline. I  shall  not  go  down  to  them 
again ;  I  shall  not  smile  gently  at  them 
any  more.  .  .  .  How  cold  it  is  in 
the  tower;  the  wind  comes  from  the 


134     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

north.  See  the  light  that  it  throws 
on  the  waves.  .  .  .  The  flowers  are 
hidden  from  sight,  the  voice  of  man- 
kind is  still,  and  sadness  hangs  over 
all.  .  .  .  How  different  from  this 
morning.    .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

And  where  is  the  bird,  little  sister? 

SELYSETTE 

We  must  wait  till  the  sun  has  sunk  into  the 
very  depths  of  the  sea,  till  the  light 
lies  dead  on  the  horizon,  for  the  bird 
is  afraid  of  the  light,  and  has  never 
yet  looked  at  the  sun.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

And  if  there  should  be  any  stars,  little  sis- 
ter? 

SELYSETTE 

And  if  there  should  be  any  stars?  .  .  . 
(Looking  at  the  sky.)     There  are  no 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      135 

stars  yet,  but  they  are  all  waiting, 
eager  to  peer  through  the  sky ;  and  we 
must  hasten,  for  it  will  be  more  terri- 
ble still  when  they  are  there.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

I  am  very  cold,  little  sister.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Let  us  sit  here ;  the  wall  will  keep  the  wind 
from  us,  and  we  will  wait  till  the  last 
gleam  of  crimson  shall  have  died  away 
in  the  sea.  .  .  .  How  slowly  the 
sun  is  sinking.  .  .  .  When  it  is  gone 
I  will  look  for  the  bird.  .  .  .  Let 
me  wrap  my  white  scarf  about  you ;  I 
shall  want  it  no  more.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Why  are  you  holding  me  so  close  to  you, 
little  sister?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Because  my  happiness  is  too  much  for  me, 


136     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

Yssaline;  never  have  I  been  happier 
than  I  am  to-day.  .  .  .  But  look 
well  at  me.  .  .  .  I  am  smiling,  I 
am  sure  I  am  smiling.  .  .  .  Why 
do  you  not  smile  at  me  ?   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

You   are   speaking   so   quickly,    little   sis- 
ter.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Am  I  speaking  quickly?   ...   I  have  no 
time  to  lose.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

And  besides,  you  are  tearing  up   all  my 
flowers.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

What  flowers?     Oh,  these!    ...   I  was 
forgetting  that  they  were  yours.  .  .  . 

YSSALINE 

I  will  not  have  you  cry,  little  sister.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

But  I  am  not  crying,  my  little  Yssaline. 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      i  37 

.  .  .  That  is  the  very  last  thing  of 
all  that  any  one  must  believe.  .  .  . 
I  am  smiling  so  much  that  I  seem  to 
be  crying.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Then  why  do  your  eyes  seem  to  be  cry- 
ing?  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

How  can  I  tell  what  my  eyes  choose  to  do  ? 
.  .  .  But  remember  this  well :  if  you 
tell  any  one  that  I  seemed  to  be  sad, 
you  will  be  punished  for  a  long,  long 
time.    .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Why? 

SELYSETTE 

You  will  know  some  day.  And  you  must 
not  ask  me  so  many  questions ;  you  are 
only  a  little  girl  who  cannot  yet  un- 
derstand the  things  that  are  clear  to 
others.     I  did  not  understand  either 


138     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

when  I  was  your  age,  no,  not  until 
very  long  after.  ...  I  may  do  this 
or  that;  but  it  is  not  the  things  you 
see  that  matter  the  most.  .  .  . 
Look  you,  my  little  Yssaline,  I  must 
not  speak  of  it,  though  I  should  so 
much  like  to  tell  some  one,  for  it  is 
sad  to  be  the  only  one  who 
knows.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

I  can  hardly  see  the  sun  now,  little  sis- 
ter.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Wait,  wait  yet  a  little,  Yssaline ;  for  as  the 
sun  goes  down,  so  does  something  else 
come  nearer  and  the  nearer  it  comes  to 
me  the  more  clearly  do  I  see.  ...  I 
can  no  longer  tell  whether  I  have  acted 
wisely  in  bringing  you  to  the  tower; 
but  some  one  had  to  come  with  me, 
for  they  will  want  to  know  all  that 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      139 

took  place,  and  they  will  be  happy  if 
only  they  do  not  know.  .  .  .  You 
do  not  understand  a  word  of  what  I 
am  saying  to  you  now,  little  sister 
mine.  .  .  .  Yes,  but  a  day  will  come 
when  you  will  understand  it  all,  when 
you  will  see  all  that  you  cannot  see  now 
that  your  eyes  are  beholding  it.  .  .  . 
And  then  you  will  be  sorrowful,  nor 
will  you  ever  be  able  to  forget  what 
you  are  about  to  see.  .  .  .  But 
when  you  are  a  woman  you  will  shed 
many  tears  because  of  this,  and  it  may 
even  weigh  upon  your  life.  .  .  . 
And  therefore  I  ask  you  to-day  to  for- 
give me,  though  you  know  not  why, 
for  the  suffering  that  will  come  upon 
you  some  time  when  you  know  too 
well.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

The   flocks   are   coming   back,   little   sis- 
ter.  .    .    . 


140     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

They  will  come  back  to-morrow  too,  Ys- 
saline. 

YSSALINE 

Yes,  little  sister.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

And  the  birds  will  sing  to-morrow.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Yes,  little  sister.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

And  the  flowers  will  open  to-morrow.  .  .  . 

YSSALINE 

Yes,  yes,  little  sister.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Why  had   it  to   be  the  younger  of  the 
two?  .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

There  is  only  a  little  red  line  there  now, 
little  sister.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      141 

SELYSETTE 

You  are  right ;  it  is  time.  .  .  .  You  your- 
self are  urging  me  to  it ;  and  the  stars 
too  are  growing  impatient.  .  .  . 
Farewell,  Yssaline.  I  am  very,  very 
happy.    .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

So  am  I,  little  sister.  Be  quick,  the  stars 
are  coming.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Have  no  fear,  Yssaline ;  they  will  see  me  no 
more.  .  .  .  Come,  sit  in  this  cor- 
ner, and  let  me  fasten  my  scarf  around 
you,  for  the  wind  is  very  cold.  .  .  . 
Do  you  really  love  me?  No,  no;  do 
not  answer;  I  know,  I  know.  .  .  . 
I  am  going  to  roll  up  this  big  stone,  so 
that  you  cannot  go  near  the  opening 
over  which  I  mean  to  bend.  .  .  . 
Do  not  be  frightened  if  you  should 
not  see  me  any  more.     It  will  only 


142     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

mean  that  I  have  had  to  go  down  the 
other  side.  .  .  .  Do  not  wait  for 
me;  go  down  the  stone  staircase  by 

yourself And,   above  all,  do 

not  try  to  see  what  I  have  done,  do 
not  go  near  this  wall.  .  .  .  You 
would  see  nothing  and  you  would  be 
punished.  ...  I  shall  wait  for  you 
below.  .  .  .  Kiss  me,  Yssaline,  and 
tell  grandam.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

What  shall  I  tell  her,  little  sister?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Nothing,  nothing.  ...  I  thought  I  had 
forgotten  something.  .  .  .,  (She 
goes  to  the  crumbling  wall  that  faces 
the  sea  and  leans  over.)  Oh,  how 
deep  and  cold  the  sea  looks !    .    .    ., 

YSSALINE 

Little  sister? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette     143 

SELYSETTE 

There  it  is;  I  see  it.  .  .  .  Do  not 
move.   .    .    . 

YSSALINE 

Where  is  it?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Wait  .  .  .  wait  ...  I  must  bend 
over  a  little  more.  .  .  .  Yssaline! 
.  .  .  Yssaline!  .  .  .  The  stones 
are  trembling  I  .  .  .  I  am  falling! 
...   Oh! 

(A  side  of  the  wall  gives.  The 
sound  of  a  fall  is  heard,  and 
a  low  cry  of  pain.  Then  a 
long  silence.) 

YSSALINE 

(rising,  in  tears) 
Little    sister!    .    .    .   little    sister!   .    .    . 
Where  are  you?   ...   I  am  fright- 
ened, little  sister!    .    .    . 

(She  bursts  out  sobbing,  alone  in 
the  turret.) 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      145 

ACT  FIFTH 

Scene  I. — A  Corridor  in  the  Castle 
(Enter  Aglavaine  and  Meleander) 

MELEANDER 

She  has  fallen  asleep;  but  the  doctors  are 
going,  and,  pray  as  I  might,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  draw  a  single  word 
of  hope  from  them.  .  .  .  She  fell 
on  to  a  hillock  of  sand,  that  the  wind 
had  swept  to  the  foot  of  the  tower, 
as  though  to  receive  her  more  ten- 
derly. It  is  there  that  the  servants 
found  her,  whilst  you  were  hoping  to 
meet  her  on  the  road  to  the  village. 
There  is  no  wound  to  be  seen  on  her 
poor  little  body;  but  a  stream  of  blood 
flows  from  her  lips;  and  when  she 
opened  her  eyes  she  smiled  at  me,  but 
said  not  a  word.    .    .    . 


146     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 
But  Yssaline?     What  does  Yssaline  say? 
They  tell  me  she  was  with  her.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

I  have  questioned  her.  .  .  .  She  was 
found  at  the  top  of  the  tower,  trem- 
bling with  cold  and  fright.  .  .  . 
She  repeats,  over  and  over  again, 
through  her  tears,  that  the  wall 
opened  while  Selysette  was  leaning 
over  so  as  to  lay  hold  of  a  bird  that 
was  passing.  .  .  .  When  I  met  her 
this  afternoon,  here  in  the  corridor — 
and  it  was  on  this  very  spot,  between 
the  pillars — she  seemed  less  sad  than 
usual.  .  .  .  "She  seemed  less  sad 
than  usual  1"  .  .  .  Do  we  not  both 
stand  condemned  by  those  words? 
.  .  .  And  now,  when  I  think  of  all 
she  has  said  to  us,  of  all  she  has  done, 
monstrous  suspicions  burst  upon  my 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      147 

soul,  and  crush  my  life.  .  .  .  Love 
is  as  cruel  as  hate.  .  .  .  I  no  longer 
believe,  I  no  longer  believe.  .  .  . 
And  all  my  sorrow  turns  into  loath- 
ing I  .  .  .  Curses  on  the  beauty  that 
brings  disaster  with  it  1  .  .  .  Curses 
on  the  mind  that  craves  for  too  much 
beauty!  .  .  .  Curses  on  the  destiny 
that  is  blind  and  deaf !  .  .  .  And  I 
curse  the  words  that  deceive  and  be- 
tray, and  I  curse  the  life  that  will  not 
give  ear  to  life  I    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Meleander.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

What  do  you  want  of  me  ?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Come  with  me.  ...  I  must  see  her,  for 
it  is  not  possible.  .  .  .  We  must 
know.  .  .  .  She  cannot  have  done 
it  deliberately.  She  cannot,  for  in 
that  case   .    .    . 


148     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

MELEANDER 

In  that  case? 

AGLAVAINE 

We  must  know.  .  .  .  Come.  .  .  .  No 
matter  how.  .  .  .  Her  suffering 
must  have  been  too  great  before  she 
would  have  done  that !  .  .  .  And  I 
would  never  again  be  able,  never, 
never.    .    .    . 

(She  drags  him  away  quickly.) 

Scene  II. — Selysette's  Bedroom 

(Selysette  lies  upon  her  bed.  Enter  Ag- 
lavaine and  Meleander.) 

SELYSETTE 

(with  a  slight  movement) 

Is  it  you,  Aglavaine?  Is  it  you,  Melean- 
der?— I  was  wanting  you  both  so 
much.  I  am  happy  now  you  have 
come.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      149 

MELEANDER 

(bursting  into  tears  as  he  throws  himself 

upon  the  bed) 
Selysette!    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

What  is  the  matter?  .  .  .  You  are  both 
crying.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Selysette!  Selysette!  .  .  .  What  have 
you  done?  .  .  .  Oh  wretch  that  I 
am!    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 
What   is   the   matter,   Aglavaine?   .    .    . 
Why   are  you   so   distressed?   .    .    . 
Have  I  done  anything  to  make  you 
unhappy?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

No,  no,  my  poor  Selysette,  you  do  not  bring 

unhappiness.    .    .    .   It  is  I  who  bring 

death   .    .    .   it  is  I  who  have  failed 

to  do  all  that  I  should  have  done.  .  .  . 


150     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

I    do   not  understand,    Aglavaine.    .    .    . 
What  has  happened — tell  me.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  ought  to  have  known,  Selysette,  and  I 
thought  I  did  know,  when  I  spoke  to 
you  the  other  day.  .  .  .  For  many 
days  past  something  has  been  unceas- 
ingly crying  aloud  in  my  heart,  and  I 
found  nothing,  and  knew  nothing,  of 
what  should  be  done — though  it 
needed  but  the  simplest  word  that  the 
simplest  creature  on  earth  might  have 
spoken  to  save  a  life  that  only  craved 
to  live.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 
What  did  you  know?  tell  me   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

When  you  spoke  of  that  idea  of  yours,  the 
other  day,  Selysette   .    .    .   and  this 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette     151 

morning,  and  again  this  afternoon,  I 
should  have  held  you  close  to  me,  so 
close  that  it  should  have   fallen  be- 
tween  us   like    a   pressed-out   grape. 
...   I  should  have  plunged  my  two 
hands  into  your  soul,   and  dragged 
forth  the  death  that  I  felt  was  living 
there.   ...   I  should  have  achieved 

something  by  dint  of  love   .    .    .   and 
I  knew  of  nothing  I  could  do,  and  I 
looked  on   and  was  blind  to  it  all, 
though  I  saw  everything,  everything! 
.    .    .   The  wretchedest  girl  of  this 
wretched  village  would  have  found  a 
kiss  that  should  save  life  for  us !  .  .  . 
I  have  been  either  unutterably  base  or 
unutterably    blind  I   .    .    .   The    first 
time,  perhaps  that  I  have  fled  from 
the  truth  like  a  child!   .    .    .   And  I 
dare    not    look    into  myself.   .    .   ... 

Forgive  me,  Selysette;  I  shall  never 
be  happy  again. 


152     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

Listen  to  me,  Aglavaine.  I  am  very  glad 
that  you  have  come  to  me  at  once,  for 
I  feel  that  ere  long  my  mind  will  wan- 
der from  me.  .  .  .  There  is  some- 
thing here  which  presses  on  my  eye- 
lids. .  .  .  But  whatever  I  may  say, 
later  on — I  cannot  tell  what  I  may  say 
— you  know  the  strange  fancies  that 
flit  across  the  dying.  ...  I  was  at  a 
death-bed  once,  and  it  is  my  turn  now. 
.  .  .  Well,  whatever  I  may  say 
later  on,  pay  no  heed.  .  .  .  But  at 
present  I  know  what  I  am  saying;  and 
do  you  listen  to  that  only,  and  recall 
that  only,  and  that  alone.  .  .  . 
Surely  there  lingers  not  a  doubt  within 
you,  Aglavaine?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Of  what  should  I  be  in  doubt,  my  poor 
Selysette  ? 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      153 

SELYSETTE 

Do  you  imagine  that   .    .    .  ? 
AGLAVAINE 

Yes.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

That  it  was  not  by  accident  I  fell? 

AGLAVAINE 

I  know  it  was  not,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

We  are  told  that  falsehood  is  impossible  to 
those  who  are  dying,  Aglavaine,  and 
I  mean  to  tell  you  the  truth.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  knew  that,  from  the  love  you  bore  us,  you 
would  be  strong  enough  for  that.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

It  was  an  accident,  and  I  fell,  Aglavaine. 
— Is  it  you  who  are  sobbing,  Melean- 
der? 


154     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 
Listen  now  to  me,  Selysette.  .  .  .  You 
know  that  the  truth  is  known  to  us. 
.  .  .  And  if  at  this  moment  I  ques- 
tion you,  it  is  not  from  doubt  of  mine, 
but  it  is  so  that  you,  you,  should  doubt 
no  more.  .  .  .  You  are  very  beauti- 
ful, Selysette,  and  I  am  on  my  knees  be- 
fore you.  .  .  .  The  thing  that  you 
have  done,  so  simply,  is  the  most 
beautiful  thing  whereof  love  is  capa- 
ble when  love  is  blind.  .  .  .  But 
now  I  ask  you  to  do  something  more 
beautiful  still,  and  I  ask  it  in  the  name 
of  a  wiser  love.  .  .  .  Locked  be- 
tween your  lips,  there  lies  the  perfect 
peace  of  all  our  life.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Of  what  peace  do  you  speak,  Aglavaine  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Of  one  that  is  deep  and  very  sad.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      155 

SELYSETTE 

But  how  can  I  give  it  to  you,  Aglavaine? 
There  is  nothing  in  me.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  need  but  tell  us  that  you  wished  to  die, 
thinking  thus  to  make  us  happy.  .  .  . 

SELYSETTE 

Gladly  would  I  say  this  to  you,  Aglavaine, 
but  it  is  impossible,  seeing  that  it  is 
untrue.  .  .  .  You  do  not  believe 
that  one  could  tell  an  untruth  on  one's 
death-bed?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  beseech  you,  think  not  of  death,  Selysette. 
.  .  .  See,  I  kiss  you,  and  pour  all 
my  life  into  your  veins,  and  flood  your 
soul  with  the  spirit  of  life  1  ...  If 
death  were  near  I  could  understand 
the  telling  of  this  falsehood.  .  .  . 
But  death  is  far  away,  and  all  life  is 
clamouring  for  the  truth.   .    .    .   Ad- 


156     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

mit  it,  Selysette ;  and  do  not  shake  your 
head;  speaking  to  each  other  as  we 
are  now  speaking,  can  we  possibly 
misunderstand?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

And  none  the  less  you  are  wrong,  Agla- 
vaine.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Must  we  weep  far  apart  then,  with  thou- 
sands of  miles  between  us?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Why  will  you  not  believe  it  to  be  true  ? 

AGLAVAINE 

Not  even  a  child  would  believe  it — for 
there  is  not  a  word  of  yours,  not  an 
act,  but  proves  the  contrary.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Which  words  and  acts  do  you  speak 
of?   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      157 

AGLAVAINE 

Why  did  you  bid  farewell  to  our  grand- 
mother ? 

SELYSETTE 

I  never  left  the  house  without  first  bidding 
her  good-bye.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Why.  .  .  .  But  why  everything,  Sely- 
sette? .  .  .  Oh,  the  misery  of  ques- 
tions such  as  these,  when  death  is  close 
by,  and  we  know  that  the  truth  is 
there,  to  our  hand,  nestling  beneath 
her  heart!   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Your  doubts  sadden  me,  Aglavaine,  and  I 
was  feeling  so  happy.  .  .  .  What 
can  I  do  so  that  you  shall  doubt  no 
more?   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Give  us  the  truth,  Selysette.   .    .    . 


158     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

But  what  is  the  truth  you  desire?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

It  was  I  who,  all  unwittingly,  urged  you  to 
this.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No,  no,  Aglavaine,  urged  was  I  by 
none.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

It  needs  but  one  word  to  dispel  the  clouds 
from  life,  and  on  my  knees  do  I  be- 
seech you  to  say  this  one  poor  word. 
.  .  .  Whisper  it  to  me  if  you  will, 
let  your  eyes  make  a  sign  to  me,  and 
even  Meleander  shall  never 
know.   .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Aglavaine  is  right,  Selysette.  ...  I  ask 
it,  too.   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      159 

SELYSETTE 

I  was  leaning  over,  and  I  fell.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  asked  me  so  often  what  I  would  do  in 
your  place.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  was  leaning  over,  and  I  fell.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Do  you  not  know  why  I  question  you 
thus?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  yes,  Aglavaine  mine,  I  can  see  that  it 
would  have  been  more  beautiful,  but 
it  would  not  be  the  truth. 

AGLAVAINE 
(sobbing) 
Oh,  God  I  how  poor  we  are  before  all  those 
of  simple  love  1   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Aglavaine!    .    .    . 


160     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

Selysette!  .  .  .  What  has  happened? 
.  .  .  You  are  turning  pale.  .  .  . 
Is  the  pain  worse  ?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

No.  ...  It  is  the  joy  that  makes  me 
suffer.  .  .  .  Oh  1  how  you  are  weep- 
ing, Meleander!    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

Selysette  I   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Do  not  weep  like  this,  my  poor  Melean- 
der. .  .  .  Now  indeed  do  we  love 
each  other.  .  .  .  There  is  no  need 
for  tears.  .  .  .  Soon  I  shall  be  dead, 
and  there  will  be  so  glad  a  smile  on 
my  lips  that  you  will  scarce  believe  T 
can  be  dead,  so  happy  shall  I  seem. 
.  .  .  What?  You  crying  too,  Ag- 
lavaine? Is  it  not  happiness, 
then?   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      161 

AGLAVAINE 

Give  us  the  perfect  peace,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  will  give  you  the  peace  you  gave  me,  Ag- 
lavaine.  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  could  give  it,  but  you  will  not.    .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

And  yet  is  there  such  great  peace  within 
me,  Aglavaine.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

(sobbing) 
God  Himself  were  wrong  before  you,  Sely- 
sette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

(with  a  change  in  her  voice) 
But  why  are  you  going,  said  my  grandam 
to  me,  why  go  away,  my  child?    Be- 
cause of  a  key  I  have  found,  grandam, 
because  of  a  key  I  have  found.    .    .    . 


1 62     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

AGLAVAINE 

Selysette!   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

(coming  to  herself) 
Yssaline!    .    .    .   What    was     I     saying? 
Tell  me  what  I  said   .    .    .   it  is  not 
true   ...   I  warned  you.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

You  said  nothing,  nothing.  .  .  .  Do  not 
torment  yourself,  Selysette.   .    .    .. 

SELYSETTE 

I  warned  you.  ...  I  may  perhaps  be 
saying  things  soon,  but  they  will  not 
be  true.  ...  You  will  forgive  me, 
for  my  soul  is  growing  so  weak.  .  .  . 
Did  I  speak  of  grandam?  .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Yes.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Yes,  I  wanted  to  tell  you.  .  .  .  You  must 
raise  her  without  touching  her  arms. 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      163 

...  I  would  have  taught  you,  but 
time,  time  would  not  allow.  Oh !  Ag- 
lavaine, be  careful  I   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

(alarmed) 
What  is  it,  what  is  it,  Selysette  ?   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Nothing,  nothing;  it  is  going.  ...  I 
thought  I  was  about  to  say  things  that 
were  not  true.    .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  will  not  seek  for  the  truth  any  more,  Sely- 
sette.  .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

Put  your  hand  over  my  mouth  when  I  say 
things  that  are  untrue.  .  .  .  Prom- 
ise, promise,  I  beseech  you.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

I  promise,  Selysette.    .    .    . 


164     Aglavaine  and  Selysette 

SELYSETTE 

(to  Meleander) 

I  have  something  to  say  to  her,  Meleander. 
.  .  .  (Meleander  goes  away 
silently.)  He  is  sad,  he  is  sad.  .  .  . 
You  will  tell  him  some  day,  by-and-by, 
when  he  has  forgotten  .  .  .  put 
your  hand  on  my  lips,  Aglavaine,  a 
sudden  pain  has  come  to  me.   .    .    . 

AGLAVAINE 

Tell  me,  tell  me,  Selysette.   .    .    . 

SELYSETTE 

I  have  forgotten  what  I  had  to  say.  .  .  . 
It  was  not  truth,  but  falsehood,  that 
was  coming.  .  .  .  Put  your  hand 
over  my  eyes,  too.  .  .  .  It  is  well 
that  they  should  be  closed  by  you  who 
opened  them.  .  .  .  It  is  true;  it  is 
true. 

AGLAVAINE 

Selysette!   .    .    . 


Aglavaine  and  Selysette      165 

SELYSETTE 

{very  faintly) 
I  was   ...    I  was  leaning  over,  and  I 
fell.   .    .    . 

(She  dies.) 

AGLAVAINE 

(with  a  sob) 
Meleander.    .    .    . 

MELEANDER 

(falls,  sobbing,  on  to  Selysette's  body) 
Selysette  1   .    .    . 

THE  END 


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